United Blood
by 86602
Summary: Vongola Primo, after passing on his legacy to Secondo, recreated his vigilante group in the form of SAWADA, fully aware that Secondo would turn Vongola into a mafia group. Vongola Primo turned Sawada Shodaime swore that he and his Guardians would come back as the 10th Gen of Vongola, in Secondo's bloodline. FULL SUM INSIDE! G27 Giotto is reincarnated as Timoteo's son! Fem!Tsu
1. Chapter 1

United Blood

 _Summary: When Vongola Primo retired and passed on the legacy to Secondo, he was aware that Ricardo would turn Vongola, his vigilante group, into mafia. Thus, when Primo and the rest of his remaining loyal Guardians moved to Japan, he recreated his vigilante group in the form of SAWADA._

 _Vongola Primo turned Sawada Shodaime swore that he and the rest of his Guardians would reincarnate in Secondo's bloodline as the Tenth Generation of Vongola to reconstruct Vongola into its former glory._

 _What Primo didn't count on was needing to wed his great-great-great-great grand daughter, in the form of his reincarnated self as Giotto di Vongola, Vongola Nono's youngest son. G27_

 _Giotto x Fem!Tsu_

* * *

Chapter One

Funerals were never a happy affair in the Vongola Famiglia.

Perhaps it was the gloomy atmosphere, the grim expressions, or because of the grieving cries of loved ones. Maybe because everyone was draped in black, how even the curtains of all the rooms in the mansion were switched from the usual warm velvet to a dinky pitch black.

'But,' Giotto mused, 'Perhaps it's because this is the third consecutive funeral to be dealt with in the span of one year.'

His eldest brother, Enrico, was killed in a gunfight at the start of the year. It… was really not something completely unexpected—death had always hung over famiglias, especially one as bloody as the Vongola—but of all the ways to go down, the Vongola had not expected that a _gunfight_ would take one of their own.

Enrico had been a hulk of a man, with flames that burned as passionately as his love for his family and for the people he would lead in the future. He had not personally been all that close to Giotto due to their relatively large age gap, but Enrico had not once treated his youngest brother unkindly. Giotto fondly remembered being given piggy-back rides in the back of their estate—remembered his brother's deep voice that would nag at him to eat because _God, you're so skinny I could break you like a twig._

That being said, it really didn't come as a surprise when it was later discovered that Enrico had died to protect his subordinates, his _friends_ , in spite of the fact that it was _their_ job to protect the heir and not vice versa.

The man always did have a bleeding heart—it would become his downfall.

Giotto remembered placing a burning white lily on his coffin—he made sure to eat three meals a day.

Timoteo, his aging father, had barely recovered from the first death when the next in line, Massimo, was drowned. Massimo, unlike his older brother, had been betrayed by his best friend. They had gone on an outing like the plenty of other escapades they had been on before, and no one had suspected a thing. Rodrick was Massimo's childhood friend, and Timoteo had entrusted his son's life to the other man.

Even before leaving, Massimo had gently reassured Giotto that _seriously, Rodrick would never let anything happen to me,_ even though his Hyper Intuition was telling him that _somethingiswrongsomethingiswrongsomethingbadisgoingtohappensomethingiswRONG._

It was the last words that Massimo would ever say to his family

Giotto had scattered the ashes of another burnt white lily over the obsidian polish of Massimo's coffin. In the back of his mind, he recalled the traitor's famiglia being burnt to the ground, completely and utterly decimated.

It comforted him.

His Guardians (only friends, at the time) had said nothing about the bloodthirst leaking behind Giotto's azure blue eyes.

The third consecutive funeral was a little different from the others, but only because there was no body to bury. Just ashes. Federico's cause of death was frustratingly unknown, but Giotto had the feeling that a third party was involved—likely the yakuza. Timoteo's similar suspicions only solidified the theory.

Federico was actually closest to Giotto among all his brothers, mostly because Federico was around Giotto's age, at twenty-six compared to his twenty-four. They had practically been attached by the hip when they were kids, and were known for being a terror duo, always causing trouble for the servants and their various other caretakers.

Whenever Giotto's Hyper Intuition acted up—when the enhanced senses became too much to handle—he always sought comfort from Federico, who would distract him from the overriding sensations by babbling about the simplest of topics, subconsciously using his own Sky Flames to soothe the mental ache.

It had only been a couple days, and Giotto already missed his brother.

He missed all his brothers.

Giotto glanced over his shoulder, watching his father in concern. His ageing amber eyes reflected exhaustion, grief, and sorrow. Giotto couldn't imagine what it was like to lose one's child, especially _three_. There was a term used for a minor who's lost both parents ( _orphan_ ), and a term for a woman who's lost her husband ( _widow_ ), but what about a parent that's lost their child?

It was every parent's nightmare to outlive their own children.

He reached over, placing a strong hand on Timoteo's shoulder. His father, in turn, placed his own heavily calloused fingers on Giotto's arm, just briefly, as if he was assuring himself that his last-living-birth-son was alive.

Giotto silently swore that he would not experience the same fate as his brothers did, if not for himself, then for his old man. Timoteo was human; he'd made many mistakes through his reign as _Vongola Nono_ , and one could say that Timoteo _did_ deserve to lose his children because of the many lives he had claimed. But that was a cruel way of perceiving his mistakes. The man really tried, but the stigma of all the sins committed by the Vongola Famiglia had followed him like a grim reaper, just as it had done to all the other bosses.

Knowing that he would take up the mantle one day sort of worried Giotto.

"Timoteo, Giotto."

Giotto turned to the man who had spoken to them. He was nearing middle-aged, and had short, spiky blond hair, tanned skin, and grim-looking brown eyes. The younger blond immediately recognized the man.

Sawada Kyuudaime, otherwise known as Iemitsu Sawada. He was the ninth boss of the Sawada Family, a vigilante group that sought to help people; in other words, it was the recreation of Vongola in its purest form, built by Vongola Primo and the rest of his remaining loyal Guardians when he had moved to Japan.

The Sawada Family reflected Vongola in many ways, since they also held the tradition of having Guardians. In fact, when Vongola Primo passed on his legacy to Secondo, he and Secondo agreed to split the rings—Sky, Storm, Rain, Lightning, Mist, Cloud, Sun—in two, so the divide in power would be even; it also developed a sort of truce between the two Families. The bosses of Vongola respected Primo's vigilante group enough to leave them alone throughout the years, although relations between Vongola and Sawada were a bit strained, considering their differing views.

However, the latest bosses of the two families, Timoteo and Iemitsu, were fairly close, in spite of all their many disagreements.

Since the Sawada's home base was in Japan, neither got to see each other too often—

Funerals had always been a common meet-up for unintentional reunions.

"Iemitsu." His father greeted with a hint of a smile—the first one of the entire day, in fact.

Giotto merely inclined his head in acknowledgement. He had visited the Sawada home base when he was younger, and he remembered being baffled at the many similar traits the Sawada base shared with the Vongola mansion.

They were like estranged siblings; raised in the same place, but in the end, sought different paths.

The Sawada family had welcomed he and his father quite warmly, treating the guests like extended family. Giotto recalled a young girl, about seven or so years younger than him, greeting him with a shy smile, before ducking behind the broad form of her father.

'She was a brunette.' He remembered. 'And she had the widest, caramel eyes.'

"I wish we could have met under better circumstances, Timoteo." Iemitsu said wryly. "It's good to see you again." _And your remaining son alive_ , was left unsaid.

"Thank you for coming, old friend." His father smiled again, just slightly. "Giotto and I appreciate it. It must have been a long trip."

"I'm used to it." Iemitsu said, waving his hand dismissively. "It was the first time my little tuna-fish was able to go on an airplane—she's always been a tad bit sheltered, which is my fault." He smiled in a self-depreciative manner, causing Giotto's brows to raise. Was it a touchy subject? "You should have seen her face; Nana had to hold her hand to calm her down."

Nono cocked his head to the side. "You took your family here?" He asked softly. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

Silently, Giotto agreed with his father; Italy was not a safe place nowadays, what with the mafia lurking in shadows and lingering in every other corner. He couldn't help but be a little concerned for the Kyuudaime's wife and daughter.

"They'll be fine." Sawada assured. "A few of my daughter's Guardians and _Reborn_ are accompanying them. They should be sight-seeing now."

At the mention of _Reborn,_ both Giotto and Timoteo relaxed. If anyone could protect a vigilante group heir, it would be the hitman.

They continued to chat, with Giotto lingering silently. He learned that Iemitsu's daughter, Tsunaki (he filed the name away in his brain, linking it to the little girl he had met all those years ago), was currently sixteen, and had gathered all her Guardians two years ago, way back when she was fourteen.

 _Reborn_ , the World's Number One Hitman, had started tutoring the girl around the same time, after an attempt on her life by the Yakuza.

Giotto was glad that Iemitsu had decided to take precautions after the incident, recalling a very similar situation that had happened to him.

He had been kidnapped, way back when he was around eleven years old. Little Giotto was able to escape himself with the use of his Sky Flames, but had been severely worn out afterwards. He'd stumbled all the way back home, nearly giving Nono and his older brothers heart attacks.

From that day, Nono had decided that, although Giotto was not the first in line, he probably had the most potential out of all his sons and should have pseudo-Guardians for himself. Having also garnered his older brothers' support, the idea was set in stone.

By the time he was sixteen, Giotto managed to find all of his "pseudo-Guardians". He had discovered G, Asari, Knuckle, Alaude, Lampo, and _Daemon_ throughout his little moments of free time as one of the heirs to Vongola, managing to bond with each and every one of them, forging loyalties perhaps even stronger than that of their predecessors and Timoteo's own Guardians. Alaude and Daemon were perhaps the hardest to forge loyalties with, but after several spars with Alaude and unknowingly helping Daemon's little sister out when he wasn't available to protect her, he managed to prove his worth as a leader.

When Giotto had officially presented his pseudo-Guardians, they managed to shock the hell out of the Vongola famiglia and his family. It didn't take long for them to make a connection between he and his Guardians and the first generation of Vongola. Several rumours rose from the ashes, many of them considered to be quite ludicrous, but the most popular rumour was that Giotto and his pseudo-Guardians were reincarnations of the first generation of Vongola.

Admittedly, the theory was not so far-fetched. Giotto had seen pictures of Vongola Primo in the past, and even _he_ could admit that the resemblance was eerie as hell.

About an hour later the funeral came to an end. Flowers and prayers were offered, and stories were shared. When it had been Giotto's turn to share a few words about Federico, his eyes watered, but no tears were shed. His Guardians (not pseudo anymore, since they were considered official Guardians now that it was certain that Giotto would take up the mantle), standing in silence amongst the crowd, had shot him comforting glances. Even Alaude and Daemon had nodded in his direction, acknowledging his grief, and, in their own ways, showing their support.

They bore the strength that Giotto momentarily needed. They had been awfully quiet throughout the entire procession, a drastic contrast to their usual rambunctious behaviour. Since Knuckle was the one conducting the ceremony, his usual volume was also absent.

Before Federico was buried within the Vongola's bloodied grounds, Giotto hooked a white lily around the obsidian containment.

There was no use in burning the poor flower if his brother was already reduced to ashes.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

It was dinner now, and Iemitsu had invited Timoteo and his son to join his family at a secluded restaurant for dinner. Iemitsu, with a comforting smile, told Giotto that he was more than welcome to bring his Guardians along.

Giotto knew that if he and his father were left to their own thoughts they would end up drowning in grief for the rest of the night. Timoteo may even bring out the alcohol, and invite his remaining birth son to join him—they had drunk their sorrows away after the first two funerals as well, ending up with a massive hangover by the next morning.

G was usually the first to find him, sprawled out on his bed, reeking of alcohol—he was also usually the first curse him out. The magenta-haired man would snap a towel over his shoulders and tell him to _take a damn shower_ and _get his life back together._ It was his Storm Guardian's way of telling him that he cared.

After a shared glance, Timoteo and Giotto graciously accepted the offer. A change of pace would be good—the liquor cabinet would not budge for that night.

After a quick chat with his Guardians, G, Asari, Lampo, and Chrome—Daemon's little sister—had decided to tag along.

Alaude chose not to go, which was expected due to his blatant dislike for crowding; he also refused to miss his annual patrols around Vongola territory, saying something along the line of _"Herbivores will always crowd when a carnivore is injured."_ Giotto took comfort in knowing that Vongola would be in good hands in their absence.

Knuckle had apologetically told him that he needed to take care of several of Vongola's men at the hospital wing—something about a field mission gone wrong. Giotto had easily waved off the apology, saying that people's lives were far more important than some dinner. He made a mental note to visit those men and thank them for their efforts to keep Vongola safe.

Daemon had said that, as much as _he so wanted_ _to go_ (the sarcasm was impossible to _not_ catch), he had a date with his fiancée, Elena, and had sent Chrome to go in his place. Giotto felt a little bad for the poor girl, since she never did react too well to strangers. The only reason why she'd probably decided to go in the first place was because her _dear_ brother asked her to go.

Giotto often wondered how a sweet girl like Chrome could be related to an utter _demon_ like Daemon.

"My nephew is probably among Iemitsu's group." G announced, once they were comfortably situated in a limo. Giotto raised his head, remembering the fiery kid that sprinted down the halls of the Vongola mansion, leaving a path of explosions in his wake.

Gokudera Hayato. Lavina's—G's older sister's—bastard son, and G's nephew.

G had been very young when Lavina managed to attract the attention of a mafia boss during one of her piano performances. A seven-year-old at the time, G had been incapable of protecting his older sister from the lecherous boss, and soon she was unwillingly impregnated.

As the rules of the mafia underworld went, when Hayato was born, he was taken away by the mafia boss, leaving Lavina completely and utterly broken-hearted.

G had completely snapped when, years later, Lavina was assassinated by the very same famiglia that had impregnated his older sister. With the Vongola Famiglia's aid—Giotto and G had met and become very good friends by then—G was able to raze the famiglia to the ground, leaving only Bianchi and the innocent servants alone. Ever since then, G had taken in Hayato, and had become an honorary member of the Vongola Famiglia.

When Hayato turned fourteen, he was invited by Reborn to become the Sawada's Storm Guardian (and, by extension, the right-hand man). Hayato had jumped at the chance, like the impulsive teen he was, and Giotto hadn't seen the temperamental boy since. He was aware, however, that G regularly checked up on him, and that he'd requested Shamal to take care of Hayato through his stay in Namimori.

"It's to be expected, as the Sawada Storm Guardian and the self-proclaimed right-hand man." Giotto chuckled, fondly remembering Hayato's declaration that he would be an even _better_ right-hand man than his "old man". Kids were so spunky nowadays.

"So we get to see Pinky's brat again." Lampo drawled, huffing. "I thought we'd managed to get rid of him."

The only one who had protested to Hayato becoming an honorary member of Vongola was Lampo, mostly because he didn't want to deal with another brat—especially not _G's_ brat. In response to that, G had told him, quite frankly, to "suck it."

"You're only a few years older, Lampo." Asari reminded the Lightning Guardian, causing Lampo to stick out his tongue to rebuke. He was pouting childishly, reminding Giotto that Lampo was still very much the kid that Giotto had met at one of Vongola's many parties quite a few years ago.

Chrome giggled softly at the display.

"How has your nephew been doing, anyway?" Giotto enquired, leaning back in his seat with an odd sort of elegance.

His right-hand man hummed. "Been a while since I've seen the brat, actually." G sighed. "Shamal told me that he's been acing his classes, and he would have been considered a favourite by the teachers if he was a little less violent. Personally, I don't really care." The tattooed man stared out the window contemplatively. "Admittedly he has been less... impulsive, ever since meeting your daughter, Kyuudaime." He directed the last sentence to the boss of the Sawada Family.

Iemitsu practically beamed. "That's my daughter!" He boasted, and started to reiterate small tales revolving around his daughter and her Guardians. Giotto was silent, but he listened intently, cataloguing the names of the young Sawada's Guardians; Hayato, Takeshi, Lambo (a mere toddler, and also the Lightning Guardian. He was very amused by how similar the name Lambo was to his own Lightning Guardian, Lampo), Ryohei, Kyoya (wasn't he Alaude's younger brother?), and Mukuro (whose description eerily reminded the future don of Daemon). Among all the Guardians mentioned, only Hayato, Takeshi, Lambo, and Mukuro were going to be at the dinner, since Ryohei had a boxing match, and Kyoya refused to leave Namimori alone.

The Hibari brothers were evidently eerily alike.

About fifteen minutes later they arrived at the restaurant. It was located in a rather quiet part of Italy, and very few people were lingering on the streets. The men all stepped out of the limo, looking a quite out of place in their formal attire. Considering that they'd just stepped out of a funeral, it wasn't all too surprising.

Giotto glanced at the restaurant that they were supposed to have dinner at. There was a large white sign pinned against the double-framed wooden doors, with thick red letters stating "CLOSED".

"Don't mind that." Iemitsu said when he noticed what had caught the heir's gaze. "I reserved the place for the night. They'll let us in."

He knocked on the door twelve times, pausing at every third beat. The doors were opened then, revealing a middle-aged woman donned in a silk burgundy dress. She had jet-black hair and cool jade green eyes, which were framed by laugh lines. The air surrounding the woman was lighthearted and familial.

She wasn't a threat.

"Welcome!" The woman spoke. "We've been expecting you." She bowed low, and flashed a disarming smile. "Allow me to lead the way."

They stepped into the homy restaurant, and the doors were shut closed behind them.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

The future Vongola Decimo was a little awed by the light atmosphere the place seemed to exert. Federico's funeral had been awfully oppressive; his chest had felt heavy throughout the entire affair. He eyed the decor acutely; the place used actual plants, not the fake ones. They appeared to be well-taken care of as well.

The burgundy walls had floral patterns, and were also lined with paintings of various things, like the ocean, a mug of coffee, and—Giotto narrowed his eyes at this—was that a goat? There were several tables, but unlike most restaurants, they were located quite a distance away from each other. There were only a few employees lurking around, but most of them were minding their own business. They'd nodded politely at the customers, though, which Giotto found himself returning.

"This way, please." The hostess called, leading them further into the restaurant. They were guided to a relatively large room that resembled a typical middle-class dining room, just a lot bigger. The furniture was also much better quality, but it wasn't quite noticeable unless observed with a trained eye. A gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling, looking as though it was on the verge of collapsing on the elongated table below, but Giotto's intuition told him that it was completely stable.

It was only then that Giotto noticed that the long table, covered by a burgundy coloured sheet (to match the walls, probably), had occupants.

There were a total of seven people.

There was only one adult, and was likely the eldest out of the group. She wore a simple yellow sundress, and white ballet flats. Her dark brown hair was shoulder-length, and her eyes appeared to be the same shade. They were also quite wide, as strange as it was to admit, and exuded a sort of innocence that could melt even the coldest enemies' hearts. Giotto confidently concluded that the woman was Nana Sawada, Iemitsu's wife.

Two kids also caught his attention. The first one appeared to be seven years old. He had emerald green eyes, and a curly mess of black hair that kind of resembled an Afro. Giotto blinked when he noticed the two horns protruding from the boy's head. It appeared that his Lightning Guardian wasn't the only one to use horns as a primary weapon. The boy also wore a cow printed sweater, zipped closed, black jogging pants, and red-and-black running shoes. At the sight of the other half of the Lightning Ring wrapped around the boy's finger, it was obvious that the child was Lambo, Tsunaki's Lightning Guardian.

The other kid was someone who Giotto knew very well. The child had pitch black hair, which was mostly covered by a fedora, but the accessory did nothing to restrain the boy's two curly sideburns. His suit was immaculate, and a bright yellow pacifier peeked out from his dress shirt.

Reborn.

Before teaching Tsuna, he was Giotto's full-time tutor. Then again, that had been when Reborn was still an adult—when he was _Renato Sinclair_. He was one hell of a spartan teacher, and even though he now resembled an adorable child, he was likely to be the same demon he had always been.

He caught the spartan teacher's gaze with a respectful nod, which was returned with a cool smirk. He missed Reborn's constant presence from his youth, although Giotto would never admit it.

He certainly _didn't_ miss the thugs that Reborn would constantly sic on him as "training _"._

There were four other teens in the room, all about seven or so years younger than Giotto and his Guardians.

He immediately caught sight of Hayato, who was heatedly glaring at his uncle, G. He'd gotten taller, Giotto noticed, and was that another piercing? The teen wore ripped grey-black jeans, a blood red undershirt, and a black sweater. Giotto nearly beamed from pride when he noticed that the second half of the Storm Ring was worn with pride by the rebellious teen. Yes, he'd already known that Hayato was the Sawada's Storm Guardian, but seeing it in the flesh made it all better. Truly, he was becoming more and more like his uncle as the days passed.

The teen beside Hayato was visually and personality-wise the opposite. He was of obvious Japanese descent, and sported short, spiky black hair, sharp hazel eyes, and tanned skin, akin to Iemitsu's.

'Takeshi Yamamoto' his brain helpfully supplied. Judging by the muscles on the boy's arms, and the callouses on his hands, he was a swordsman. _And had been a baseball player at one point_.

'He likely gave it up to further invest in swordsmanship.' he mused. The future don started to feel a little melancholy. 'Just as Asari had done with his flute.' Both incarnations of Asari had given up the flute, in fact.

The eldest teen of the group bore an eerie resemblance to his own Mist Guardian, and according to the other half of the ring he was wearing, Mukuro was the Sawada's own Mist. He was observing the new occupants of the room with a keen eye, and seemed to have taken interest in little Chrome. No doubt, if Daemon and Mukuro met, they'd have a hell of a time trying to get along, especially since Daemon was especially protective over his little sister. Giotto was secretly glad that Daemon had not chosen to come that day.

The last teen was the youngest, and the only other female in the group. Judging from her own half of the Sky Ring, she was the heir to the Sawada family—the future Sawada Jyuudaime. Images of the younger brunette he had met years ago overlapped with the older version, and honestly the girl hadn't changed too drastically. She wore a knee-length dark grey skirt, calf-high black socks, and sleek black shoes. A white blouse was tucked into her skirt, and a red ribbon was wrapped around the collar of the shirt. She resembled her mother quite a lot, since her hair was cut in a similar fashion—short and ending just above her shoulders. The girl had the same caramel eyes of the memory, and she sported just a hint of a tan.

She was staring at him quite evidently, actually, mouth gaping in surprise. He raised a brow at the amusing expression. Did she recognize him?

"G-Gio-nii?" She sputtered in Japanese. She was promptly hit upside the head by Reborn, and Giotto winced on her behalf. He knew how much that hurt.

"Stupid Tsuna." Reborn said, in that squeaky, child-like voice of his. "Show more respect. If you're going to be a boss, you've got to start acting a little more like one."

Tsunaki nodded meekly, and turned back towards Giotto. Everyone else was oddly silent, watching the exchange between the two soon-to-be bosses. Tsunaki stood up from her seat, walking towards Giotto. Once she was in front of him, she bowed low. "I'm sorry for my behaviour earlier." She said, voice wavering a bit. It was obvious that she was nervous, although she did a good job hiding it. "I was just a little surprised, seeing you again, G-Gio-nii."

Giotto was once more glad that Asari had taught him Japanese, though he did retain some knowledge of it from his previous incarnation. He smiled softly at the girl, showing her that he wasn't going to bite (unlike what a certain skylark would do).

"It's quite alright, Tsunaki-chan." Giotto said, waving his hand dismissively. As he was taught, he bent down on one knee, gently grasped her hand, and kissed Tsunaki's knuckles. He chuckled softly when he noticed how the girl's face burned scarlet, all the way down to her slim neck. "I apologize for our abrupt entrance." He murmured against her knuckles.

The future Decimo stood up, and patted Tsunaki's shoulder gently. He glanced back at the girl's father, who'd been watching the exchange with a strange expression. "Was our coming not informed?" He questioned.

The man had the gall to look a little sheepish. He scratched the back of his head, laughing a little nervously. "Er... no?"

Giotto heard Reborn mutter something along the lines of "Stupid Iemitsu".

"We have plenty of room, still." Nana butted in, bearing a sweet smile. "We haven't started to eat yet." She gestured to the empty plates lined on the clothed table as emphasis.

"Thank you, Nana." Timoteo said, smiling warmly. Everyone rearranged themselves so the Sawada Family would be sitting across from the Vongola Famiglia: Tsuna sat across from Giotto, Timoteo sat across Iemitsu, who sat beside his wife (who, in turn, had Reborn perched on her lap), G sat across a still-surprised Hayato, Asari sat across Takeshi, Chrome sat across Mukuro—and was blushing from the older teen's leery gaze—and Lampo reluctantly sat across Lambo, whom he deemed brat at first sight.

"Oi, Stupidera!" Lambo called. "Why does the pink-haired man look like you?"

"It's magenta." G corrected with a growl.

"Shut up, cow!" Hayato snarled back at Lambo, though, as Giotto observed the exchange more closely, it seemed almost affectionate and familial.

Tsunaki's eyes were noticeably flitting over Gokudera and G. She probably also saw the resemblance between the two Storm Guardians.

"G is Hayato's uncle." He explained to her, though it was loud enough for everyone else at the table to hear.

Her eyes widened in understanding. "So _this_ is the man that Gokudera-kun talks about." She spoke, awed. "He told me that he had an uncle that worked with the mafia, but he never said that he was the _Vongola Storm Guardian_..."

Hayato looked surprisingly contrite. "I'm so sorry, Jyuudaime!" He apologized, bowing his head. "It just never came up!"

G was almost startled by his nephew's abrupt change in personality. So, the Sawada Family really _did_ do good for his charge.

Tsunaki waved off the apology with a gentle smile. It acutely reminded the future Decimo's Guardians of their own boss. Perhaps the Sawada Family reflected the Vongola Familglia in even more ways than one.

The rest of the night was filled with pleasant chatter, even when Hayato did blow up a couple times, especially when it came to Takeshi. The "sword freak" seemed to aspire Hayato's more aggressive behaviour, even though Takeshi didn't really do anything to spur on such intense emotions. If Hayato wasn't yelling at Takeshi, he was loudly arguing with G.

In spite of the shouting matches between the uncle-and-nephew that took place right beside them, the two Rain Guardians got along quite well, talking about _everything_ and exchanging various recipes to try out on their free time.

Giotto _had_ suspected that they would get along just fine.

Lampo was acutely annoyed by Lambo's immature behaviour, but they seemed to share a mutual dislike for octopus-heads, so they did at least have that much in common. They would often take part in shouting matches of their own, if they weren't hurtling insults at G and Hayato.

It was apparent that Chrome had actually taken quite a liking towards Mukuro, likely because he was so much like her older brother. It mildly surprised Giotto, considering that Chrome was usually so shy around strangers.

"They all seem to be getting along." Giotto said with a fond smile. "Your Mist Guardian seems to like Chrome a lot."

"Yeah, it's kinda strange." Tsunaki chuckled, observing the amusement dancing across Mukuro's eyes. "I've never seen him acting like that before."

There was a comfortable pause between the two future bosses.

"You know," Giotto murmured after a couple minutes of silence passed between them. "It's been a while since we've seen each other." He forked the steak on his plate, guiding the utensil into his mouth.

"Y-yeah." Tsuna stuttered softly. "I was... ten the last time? Six years ago..."

"I was seventeen then, I believe." Giotto said. "You were such a cute kid, Tsuna."

Tsunaki blushed, ducking her head. She stared at her food, which consisted of pasta, and nervously played with it with her own fork. "I, er, uh—th-thank you?"

Giotto couldn't help it. He laughed.

"Yep." He mused out loud. " _Definitely_ cute."

"Sh-shut up, Gio-nii." She stammered, scratching her apple-red cheek. Giotto merely laughed again, ruffling the younger girl's hair. Tsunaki glanced up to meet Giotto's cool azure-blue gaze, admiration clear in her bright caramel eyes.

Unbeknownst to the future bosses, Timoteo and Iemitsu were observing their children closely. They shared a look, borderline _devious._

So maybe their plan to properly merge the Vongola and Sawada wasn't too impossible after all.

* * *

 **A/N[ 2016-09-02]: Writer's bloc sucks. Ideas would be greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

United Blood

 _Summary: When Vongola Primo retired and passed on the legacy to Secondo, he was aware that Ricardo would turn Vongola, his vigilante group, into Mafia. Thus, when Primo and the rest of his remaining loyal Guardians moved to Japan, he recreated his vigilante group in the form of SAWADA. Vongola Primo turned Sawada Shodaime swore that he and the rest of his Guardians would reincarnate in Secondo's bloodline as the Tenth Generation of Vongola to reconstruct Vongola into its former glory._

 _What Primo didn't count on was needing to wed his great-great-great-great grand daughter, in the form of his reincarnated self as Giotto di Vongola, Vongola Nono's youngest son. G27_

 _Giotto x Fem!Tsu_

* * *

 _ **PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER. IT IS IN REGARDS TO THE FUTURE CHAPTER.**_

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

As he observed the gruesome visage before him, (of thick, crimson blood splatters seeping into the depths of the freshly cut lawn) Giotto bemoaned the scolding he would surely receive from the gardeners.

Even though he was going to be the next boss of the infamous Vongola Famiglia, it didn't mean that he enjoyed killing people. Quite the contrary actually; he _detested_ it. Usually his kills were quick and clean, with very little blood to tell the story, but considering the intruder's intent was to steal his brother's fucking _ashes_ —

—Well, Giotto had every right to be pissed. When it came to family, the future don wasn't afraid to spill blood.

Family, in his case, included both biologically-related and not. If it had been one of his (God forbid) Guardian's ashes, he would be more than willing to lodge a bullet into the fool's head.

The dinner between the Vongola Famiglia and the Sawada Family had ended only a couple hours ago. All the Guardians (including Chrome) returned to their sleeping quarters, and Timoteo was stuck in his office for the next hour or so slaving through paperwork—the poor man, having to deal with the famiglia's affairs even if his third son's funeral had only ended hours ago.

Typically, an intruder would be dealt with by his Cloud Guardian (whom was still very much active during the night), but he and Alaude had come to the agreement that when it came to _grave robbers_ , Giotto would deal with them. The blond's Hyper Intuition would never let one of those bastards in the mansion, anyway.

Giotto sighed wearily, pocketing his gun. The silencer was on, and he was miles away from the mansion, so none of the occupants would have heard it.

He could have easily used his I Vongola Gloves (inherited from Vongola Primo himself) to deal with the robber, the future don knew, but the pistol that he always kept on his person was the first thing his fingers touched on impulse.

Giotto had been getting ready to retire for the night when his Hyper Intuition started to buzz wildly. He'd grabbed his weapons, pulled on a black overcoat, and bolted out of the mansion as quietly as he could manage. Giotto had found the grave robber speaking to his boss through a bluetooth device, confirming his reward for stealing _Federico's ashes._

Red had crawled into his vision, and Giotto, for all his restraint, _reacted._ In a split second the grave robber collapsed onto the ground, a pool of crimson liquid leaking from where his head landed.

In the end, he supposed that he could have dealt with the situation in a much cleaner fashion. He could have waited for the robber to end the call first, interrogate the man, and _then_ execute him, but any semblance of logic was simply thrown out the window the moment he mentioned his older brother's remains.

He'd done his job, and that's all what really mattered.

"You've gotten more ruthless over the years, Giotto."

The blond didn't even jump, far too used to the hitman's random appearances—even if Giotto had graduated from student-hood a long time ago.

"Only for family, Reborn."

The child-like (he appeared to be seven years old now) hitman's lips curled into a smile.

"Hmph. I'd be disappointed if you told me otherwise. My dame-student has yet to understand the importance of ruthlessness, although I can't really blame her."

"You mean Tsunaki-chan?" Giotto asked. "Why aren't you with her, anyway?"

"I was meaning to report to Timoteo about a job he requested me to complete a while back since I'm already here in Italy, but I saw you—" Sharp obsidian orbs settled on the rapidly cooling corpse laying sprawled out on the freshly trimmed grass. A bullet was lodged into the corpse's skull, and he was bleeding profusely from the wound. "—dealing with this man here."

"I see." Timoteo had told him about this job; he'd wanted Reborn to assassinate a particularly stubborn, foul mafioso that had taken refuge in Japan. The mafioso dealt with human trafficking and child abductions (Giotto's face had morphed into clear disgust while his father was explaining this bit to him); while the rest involved with the inhumane deeds were apprehended by other members of Vongola, the leader had escaped unmarred.

Since the Varia were on probation for yet _another_ city they'd needlessly destroyed, Reborn was the best man (kid) for the job, considering that the mafioso was conveniently located close to the Sawada base. Reborn was inclined to annihilate anyone that was deemed a threat to the Sawada Family, anyway.

"Tsuna has a good heart, in spite of all her dame-ness. She'll be a great boss one day." The hitman continued. His wide-brimmed fedora obscured part of the child's face. An odd sensation prickled in the back of Giotto's head. Something wasn't quite right with the Sun Arcobaleno.

"You seem a little concerned, Reborn." Giotto said quietly. The future Decimo had always been observant. He'd noticed the slight tone shift in Reborn's voice when he mentioned Tsunaki's apparent kindness.

"She didn't want to be a boss." Reborn explained. "She had no clue that her father was the leader of the Sawada Family when I met her."

"Iemitsu didn't tell her?" He asked, a little urgently. "Isn't that awfully risky of him?"

"Iemitsu thought he could protect his family better the more they knew less. It was stupid decision, since his daughter _is_ supposed to become the next Sawada boss by birthright— _Sawada Jyuudaime_. She had assassins after her even _before_ she was aware of the Sawada Family's true nature."

"I suppose being the future leader of a vigilante group doesn't completely steer you away from the Mafia." Giotto's face shadowed, his lips fixed into a grim line.

Once you got entangled with the mafia, you could _never_ get out.

Vigilante groups like the Sawada Family would eventually have to get involved with the mafia after clashing with the Yakuza, terrorist groups, and other minor criminal organizations. Naturally, they'd also gain _plenty_ of enemies because everything they stood for was the complete opposite of the purpose of the Sawada Family.

To _protect._

Tsunaki's future didn't look all too bright.

Then again his own life, being born to rule the world's bloodiest mafia; having to wear the title of _Vongola Decimo_ when the title technically should have belonged to his eldest brother, Enrico; being forced to carry all of the Vongola famiglia's burdens, embrace all of its horrendous _sins_ —

Well, if Giotto wished to live as long as his dear old father, then he'd be forced to make a plethora of difficult decisions that could very well lead to the famiglia's downfall.

Tsunaki would have to make similar decisions, and if she was as soft as Reborn made her out to be (and from what impression Giotto got from her through their pleasant conversation back at the restaurant), then, Giotto realized, concern for the younger girl bubbling in his chest, she would practically be swallowed by the Underworld's darkness, eaten alive, beaten black and blue until she was _barely recognizable_.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

But no less a morbid thought.

"You understand." Reborn said cryptically, as though he had read Giotto's thoughts.

Giotto fell silent. A shiver ran through his body as a harsh stroke of wind gusted towards their direction. He idly watched his victim's (the corpse's) hair flutter in the wind, looking more alive than the rest of the dead robber's body.

"Go back to the mansion, Giotto." The child-like hitman quipped. "I heard from Nono that you have to accompany him to negotiate an alliance with the Digirolamo Famiglia tomorrow."

Giotto inwardly groaned. He'd forgotten about that. He brushed back his spiky blond hair with calloused fingers, and made a move to pick up the corpse from the ground. Reborn stopped him, and Giotto looked at him inquiringly.

"A mafia boss should not touch enemy corpses so openly; you should detain him of any weapons, or set time-bombs just in case."

Giotto managed a tiny smile that seemed to make the heavy atmosphere a lot lighter. "Of course, _il precetorre._ "

 _Tutor._

Reborn smirked, and stayed to watch Giotto detain the corpse, criticizing every wasted movement he made. The future don quickly adapted and corrected his mistakes.

Once a student, _always_ a student.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

Tsunaki Sawada, heir to the Sawada Family, future _Sawada Jyuudaime,_ collapsed on her bed languidly, feeling rightfully exhausted, yet strangely content.

Reborn had left mysteriously long ago, leaving Tsunaki alone in her hotel room. Her father had literally rented out the entire hotel ( _Five_ stars, no less) for the family to stay in for the next couple of weeks. The hotel belonged to the Vongola Famiglia, apparently, and Vongola Nono had initially offered to pay for their stay. Her father had stubbornly refused the payment, claiming that he could easily pay for his family's stay ("family" including the Guardians and Reborn) with his own money. Gio-nii's father was just as stubborn, though, and for the next several minutes they bickered over who would pay for the expensive bill.

They managed to compromise on Nono giving them a discount for the room services and food.

Tsunaki found their little squabble (which had taken place through a phone call, no less) amusing, to say the least. Her mom seemed to agree so, too.

The day had been quite eventful. The Sawada Family had arrived in Italy the day before, but due to jet lag and all, everyone had agreed to stay in for the day and rest. Her dad had barged into her room bright and early the next morning, declaring that they were all going to go sight-seeing. He didn't even bother barging into all the other rooms because he was very much aware of the booming volume of his voice. Tsunaki was pretty sure that everyone within the vicinity of the rooms had been able to hear him.

Reborn, who'd been lounging in a hammock at the other side of the room, had thrown a bar of soap at her for not getting ready fast enough and making her family wait. She'd wanted to remind Reborn that Takeshi and Lambo were probably sleeping in too, but knowing the hitman, the piece of knowledge wouldn't do much to change anything.

Tsuna had learned long ago that there was no use in questioning her strange tutor.

Still, Tsuna had to admit that the day was fun. The whole group—her father, her sweet mother, the Guardians, Reborn, and finally Tsunaki herself—had been the picture-perfect example of obnoxious tourists. They'd roamed the streets, with Tsunaki desperately trying to get her Guardians to quiet down after noticing the annoyed looks being sent by the residents. Her parents had also been positively _embarrassing._ They'd showered each other with affection at nearly any given moment. It was admittedly kind of cute (still cringe-worthy, though), but when they started calling each other _nicknames_ (Nana-baby, Ie-sweetie, _Sweedums_ , etc.) Tsunaki had sincerely wanted for the ground to swallow her whole. Thankfully most of the residents didn't understand Japanese, and the few who did had sent the couple exasperated looks.

In a way, Tsunaki couldn't really blame her parents. Iemitsu barely had time to spend with his family, what with being the boss of the Sawada Family and all. Most of the year, the Sawada household was only occupied by Nana and Tsunaki. Their family had only recently started to expand significantly. (It was rare for the Sawada household nowadays to ever be quiet. Once, a neighbour had called the police on the stance of _noise_ control. _That_ had been something that never occurred before).

Around the afternoon, while the group had been window shopping, Tsunaki had overheard Iemitsu regretfully telling Nana that he had to leave early and attend a gathering with the Vongola Famiglia.

"I'll meet up with you guys at the _Little Tree_ restaurant around 8:00 in the evening." He'd said to them as a whole, as opposed to merely fixating his attention towards his wife. "Reborn should know where the place is." The look Iemitsu had then shot at the hitman before he left was something that Tsunaki was able to roughly translate: _protect my family._

It made Tsuna smile a little. She shifted her position on the queen-sized bed, and tucked a white pillow underneath her chin. Yes, Iemitsu was nowhere near the perfect father. He'd made plenty of mistakes in the past, and had hurt Tsunaki and her mother (unintentionally) on many occasions, including missing birthdays, forgetting his wedding anniversary with Nana, and the like. But—perhaps this was a trait that the direct members of the Sawada family shared—Tsunaki knew that she (and her mother, though knowing the woman, she probably _already_ shoved all his mistakes under a rug) could forgive him. He wanted his family to be safe, and was genuinely concerned for their well-being. There were worse parents in the world, after all, and Tsunaki was grateful for what she had.

After sight-seeing for a few more hours (and getting nearly arrested for God-knows-what [The brunette had a feeling that it was somehow Reborn's fault]), the group had finally decided to go to the _Little Tree_ restaurant and meet up with Iemitsu again. After the hostess had lead them to their private reserved room, Nana suggested for the group to wait for Iemitsu to show up before deciding to order something out of the very expansive menu. Tsunaki had carefully been cradling one of the menus, squinting at the unfamiliar words. Gokudera had been more than happy to translate each of the meals, glad to be of use to his precious Jyuudaime.

Tsunaki had soon been interrupted from her attempt to pronounce _Conchiglioni_ when a group of suited men (with a small, petite teenage girl following behind silently) walked into the room.

 _'_ _Wasn't_ _this room_ _supposed to be_ _reserved?'_ she'd thought curiously, but then had spotted her father's familiar spikes among the group. He'd been animatedly talking, making wild hand gestures as he spoke in rapid-fire Italian. It appeared that he was having an almost one-sided conversation with his ageing companion (nearing his mid-sixties). The elder was wearing a prim black suit, and held an oddly shaped cane that had sparked one of Tsunaki's old memories. When she heard the man respond to something her father had said in a thick Italian accent, she'd gasped, not only recognizing the voice from the recent phone call, but from an old childhood visit. _Vongola Nono,_ otherwise known as Timoteo di Vongola. She'd been absolutely befuddled. Her father had not told anyone that _Vongola Nono_ was going to be with them at the dinner.

Her attention had then shifted to the rest of the group. She'd assumed that they were probably Timoteo's escorts (or something of the sort), but the thought had immediately been discarded when she zeroed in on yet _another_ familiar face. She'd gaped, mouth morphing into a tiny "o" shape, eyes as wide as saucers.

 _Spiky,_ _wild_ _blond locks._ _A hint of a tan on smooth, unblemished skin._ _Aristocratic eyebrows,_ _naturally fixed in_ _to_ _a small arch._ _Tall, with firm broad shoulders._ _Cool azure orbs,_ _calm and collective._

Recognition had lit up in her caramel-coloured eyes. This man, he had to be-

"G-Gio-nii!" She'd blurted out.

Her outburst had been immediately met by a righteous smack upside the head. She'd yelped, wincing pitifully as she clutched onto the newly forming bruise. It surely was not the most painful injury that she'd ever received from Reborn (his first visit to the Sawada home, back when Tsunaki was still clueless about the Sawada Family's true vigilante nature, held the spot of "Most Brutal Reborn Assault" with an iron, deadly grip), but it had still hurt like _hell._

While Reborn berated her, she'd noticed the twitch of Giotto's aristocratic eyebrows. She'd inwardly cursed herself for her inappropriate behaviour. It'd been years since she'd seen the blond _man_ (he'd been a teenager back then, a _boy)._ A lot could change in a person in such a great amount of time, and she wasn't really sure if Giotto exactly appreciated being called "Gio-nii" like before. All those years ago, during Timoteo and Giotto's visit to the humble Sawada home, Iemitsu had introduced Timoteo as her _grandfather_ and Giotto her older _brother._ She'd considered him her beloved _nii-san,_ and was ignorant to the existence of the mafia.

Yet, Tsunaki realized, since Giotto's was Timoteo's son, he was an _heir to the bloodiest famiglia in history._

The thought induced shivers down her spine. She knew that some famiglias had better morals than others, but Reborn had showed her the true horrors of the mafia throughout her training to become the Sawada Jyuudaime. He'd taught her Vongola's bloody history (since Vongola and Sawada were inevitably connected, branch families of sorts), which started to reign when Ricardo warped the true origins of the Vongola Family.

It was the reason why Vongola Primo had created the _Sawada Family_ in the first place.

Tsunaki thought it was a bit ironic, though, how Iemitsu and Timoteo were able to get along so well. The two stood from two completely different stances; one of them was the leader of a vigilante group, and the other was the boss of the Underworld's bloodiest famiglia; _mafia._

They should be enemies, but they weren't—couldn't—because they shared the same _founding father._ The Vongola may be as it is in the present because of _Secondo,_ but the Vongola Famiglia had firmly stated that their true founder was Giotto di Vongola, _Vongola Primo._

Daniela di Vongola, or _Vongola Ottavo,_ had practically hero-worshipped Vongola Primo; this hero-worship had inevitably passed on to her son, Timoteo. She was no doubt watching her son and grandson with glee from the afterlife, especially since her grandson was the supposed reincarnation of Vongola Primo _._

Tsunaki only knew about the reincarnation bit from her father's subordinate, Basil. The dirty-blond was always up to date when it came to news about the Vongola Family, and had told her about how positively _fascinating_ the new Tenth Generation of Vongola was during one of his annual visits to the Sawada household. It was not only Primo that "came back"—even the First Generation Guardians were very much alive as well. She hadn't believed it at first, and was especially baffled when she realized that _Gio-nii_ happened to be part of this "reincarnation" business; the fact that he was the supposed reincarnation of _the founding father_ was enough to make anyone woozy.

But at the same time, she couldn't find herself really caring about Giotto, her "nii-san", essentially being the founder of both influential families. What truly mattered to her were her past interactions with the young man.

She'd absolutely adored Giotto as a little girl, because he was so bright and kind and so, _so warm._ She'd only been a mere ten-year-old, but she was admittedly very lonely _._ The nickname, Dame-Tsuna, drove people away like the plague. Her classmates made fun of her (they still do, but most avoided such actions nowadays in fear of the wrath of her Guardians), her teachers thought she was hopeless, and, with her father's continued absence and her mama's frustrating ignorance, Tsunaki was completely alone. Her self-esteem had shrivelled into a speck of dust, and the young brunette had been stubbornly convinced that there was something _wrong_ with her, otherwise people wouldn't think she was _weird,_ that she was _hopeless_ , that she was _no good._

She'd barely made it to the two-digit years, and yet she'd felt like she was a decade older. Every day became a drag. She'd always been so anxious, so pessimistic, and she felt like she was on some kind of high every day, restless and exhausted at the same time.

But, then a kind sky waltzed into her life one day, with his ageing father in tow, and suddenly the world seemed less monochromatic and more _lively_ _._ Suddenly her throat didn't feel so constricted, suddenly she was graced with a calming euphoric sensation, suddenly her heart rate slowed from the frantic drum beat to a soothing _thud... thud... thud..._

Suddenly she didn't feel so empty.

And this feeling, Tsunaki had realized, as she gazed at the familiar tall blond, had not changed _at all_ throughout the years. Never mind that he was the heir to the bloodiest famiglia on the roster; even if her mind wasn't sure, her heart was certain that the man was still the same kind, vibrant Gio-nii that had unknowingly pulled her out of the darkest pits of her mind. She'd learned long ago to trust her intuition.

Still, even though she did not consider Giotto a stranger—he couldn't be, especially not with all the things that he'd unknowingly done for her—he wasn't someone that she knew terribly well either.

Perhaps it was time to get to know Giotto more this time around.

"Stupid Tsuna." Reborn had scolded, although it didn't nearly sound as scalding as it could have. "Show more respect. If you're going to be a boss, you've got to start acting a little more like one."

She'd responded with a meek nod, gulping a little. If she was going to get to know Gio-nii better, she'd have to start off with leaving a better impression. Her earlier outburst was probably putting a dent to that.

She'd then apologized, tiny voice wavering just a bit. Thankfully Giotto waved it off; a soft smile had formed on his face. "It's quite alright, Tsunaki-chan." He'd said with a deep tenor, causing pleasant shivers to run up her spine. She had bit back a surprised yelp when Giotto elegantly bent down on his knee, gracefully grasped her petite hand, and kissed her knuckles. She couldn't stop the deep hue of red from clouding her cheeks.

After a short conversation between Giotto and her father, the Vongola group had been welcomed to join the table for dinner. Everyone had adjusted themselves accordingly to accommodate the guests, and soon the table erupted with pleasant (read: rambunctious) chatter. No doubt, if they had been at a restaurant crowded with other people, they would have been kicked out.

She'd mostly been quiet throughout the start of the affair, focused on observing her Guardians' behaviour. She'd been surprised about the revelation of G being Gokudera's uncle, although after a more speculative glance, she was able to see the resemblance. Putting aside their completely different colourings, Gokudera and G were practically twins by appearance. Of course, G had slightly broader shoulders and a much more prominent height, but Tsuna concluded that it was because the Vongola Storm Guardian was several years older than his Sawada counterpart.

Tsunaki had to admit, though, that she was especially concerned over her Mist's sudden interest with the frail, purple-haried girl that came with the Vongola Famiglia. Her Mist Guardian could be quite cruel at times, and she worried about him going too far with the pale girl.

Apparently she hadn't been the only one observing the Guardians' interactions. Gio-nii had even pointed out Mukuro's interest in Chrome.

"Yeah, it's kinda strange." She'd responded, chuckling softly. "I've never seen him a-acting like this before." The odd stutter was mentally cursed.

Tsunaki paused from her musings, face burning a bright shade of red as she recalled what had happened afterwards. She rolled to her side, burying her face into a puffy white pillow.

 _Cute._ He'd called her _cute._

 _Definitely cute_ , was what he said.

Her heart thudded quickly, but in a pleasant way, not at all like how her heart would speed up during her various anxiety fits. Her face was warm, and she felt all tingly.

Mukuro had called her cute before, but it had been said in a more condescending fashion, like how the strong regarded the weak. Something along the lines of, "It's cute how you think that you have control over me." Which she most certainly _did not_ and had not said before. Mukuro was like a wild card, and was capable of being just as distant as her Cloud. She'd known from the start that Mukuro had never regarded her as his boss, and same went for her Cloud Guardian. At the time, she wasn't able to fully register Mukuro's "compliment" because Gokudera was suddenly up in the mist user's face, seeking to defend his "precious Jyuudaime's" honour.

The affair had ended with Hibari biting them all to death for disturbing the peace of Namimori. Tsunaki did not escape from the prefect's wrath, although he was admittedly less harsh with her punishment. Apparently Hibari's twisted sense of honour dictated that females should not have to endure as harsh of a punishment as males do, unless said female was a bitch, to put it in the simplest of terms. A little sexist as it may be, but considering the treatment of women in other parts of Asian countries...

Well, she couldn't complain.

Then again he'd hit her before, but they were never much worse than her tutor's blows. She was usually just left with a bruise, maybe a few cuts, but nothing more. She supposed the minor injuries were a "gift" from her Cloud Guardian, because she was his "boss".

Though, as she mentioned before, he never considered her as such; hell, she didn't really consider herself a boss either. Hibari Kyoya was the boss of himself, and anyone who compromised that would gleefully be bitten to death. The only reason why she hadn't been bitten yet was because being associated with Sawada Tsunaki meant that he'd get to bite many different carnivores to death. _That_ certainly would be more entertaining than biting the ordinary herbivore to death.

It made Tsunaki wonder how Giotto was able to handle his Guardians. From what she'd seen at the dinner, they were just as rambunctious as her own Guardians. And, she hadn't even met _his_ Cloud, nor his Mist. Was Giotto's Cloud just as homicidal and distant as her own? Was Giotto's Mist as utterly disturbing as Mukuro? What about his Sun Guardian? Was he just as _extreme_ as Ryohei?

The Guardians she was able to meet at the dinner had shared an eerie likeness to her own Guardians. The Vongola and Sawada Families were practically mirrors, and it was admittedly a little frightening—most certainly absurd.

She frowned a little, and quietly contemplated the Vongola's "Sky".

How could she even compare to Giotto? He was obviously skilled, far more experienced than she ever could be judging from the callouses lining his palms like artwork. She'd observed the way he ate at the dinner; his movements were swift and punctual, and his aura was absolutely _breathtaking._ They'd just been _eating_ for heaven's sake and still the ethereal aura practically flowed in waves from his being.

It was like comparing a sad, little pebble to a mountain.

Tsunaki abruptly slapped her cheeks, rubbing the smooth surface of her palms harshly against soft globs of tender skin. No. Comparison games never ended well with Tsunaki. Reborn would smite her with Leon again if she let herself spiral in self-depreciation.

But still, it didn't change the fact that she had a long way to go to become a good boss. Giotto was quite frankly the best role model to look up to when it came to such terms, even if he was a mafia boss as opposed to a vigilante boss. Heh. Was there even such thing as a term like vigilante boss?

It appeared that the Sawadas were the first on the roster, and if Giotto was willing to, then the Vongola had a chance to walk away from a horrendously bloody path—or at least walk a path that was substantially less bloody than it already was.

Tsunaki sighed softly, rubbing her temples. Her head was hurting from all the thinking. At this rate, she wouldn't get any sleep, and if Reborn noticed that she was still up by the time he came back, well, Reborn would _make_ her go to sleep. With Leon. Probably in the form of a sledge hammer. She leaned over and turned off the lampshade situated beside her bed, immediately snuggling into her covers afterwards.

Thus Tsunaki fell into a deep slumber, completely undisturbed by the sudden explosions booming down the hallways, followed by a maniacal laugh (Mukuro), angry shouts (Gokudera), and idle laughter (Yamamoto).

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

It was past midnight when Reborn finally entered Timoteo's office. With the corpse disposed of and Giotto snoozing away in his room hallways away from his father's office, Reborn was finally able to speak with the Ninth without any other incidents.

The child-like hitman shut the door behind him, sealing the lock with his sun flames.

"You didn't call me here to talk about that troublesome mafioso, did you?" Reborn's sharp eyes narrowed at the elderly man. "I've already reported to you through your agents—I dislike lying to my students—both of them, at that."

Timoteo sighed deeply. "I apologize, Reborn. But I did not have any other appropriate excuse to call you over here, especially since Giotto and Alaude are still usually up during these late hours."

Reborn raised an eyebrow.

"You know how Alaude is with security, and Giotto can be just as vigilant as his Guardian is. His little affair tonight is an obvious show of that." His lips were settled into a grim line. He obviously knew about the would-be intruder, and he seemed satisfied that his son had already dealt with the situation.

The hitman merely nodded in acceptance. "It doesn't matter anymore." He sighed. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Timoteo gestured for the hitman to sit in the chair opposite to him. The older man had a strange look in his eye, and Reborn immediately turned wary. "I... considering that you've been a huge impact to both of them, I think you should know about our plan."

"You're talking about Tsunaki and Giotto." It wasn't a question. "And Iemitsu." Sharp eyes turned into deadly blades. A plan shared between the two bosses of the most influential families in the world. How concerning. The Vongola Family usually did little to meddle with the Sawada Family's affairs, and vice versa, mostly because they usually stood on opposing grounds.

Timoteo took a deep breath.

"What are your thoughts on having Giotto and Tsunaki marry?"

* * *

 **A/N: CHAPTER TWO IS COMPLETE! I did NOT expect this fic to get so many favourites, follows, and reviews. I'M SO HAPPY :3**

 **Seriously though, I need ideas guys. I fear the possibility of getting writer's block (again) and I humbly ask you all for help so I can continue this fic. I don't even know what I have planned for the next chapter XDDD**

 **Anyway, I plan for each chapter to be around the 5k range, so if I don't update quickly, that's probably why. I take a long time to write sometimes.**

 **Also, concerning the scene where Tsunaki is contemplating about past events: Was that confusing? I've been slaving through that particular scenes for hours, picking at tenses and stuff, so I'd appreciate if someone can point out a better way for me to execute that scene. Thanks!**

 **The Reviews section is up and running again, so y'all can just leave a review as usual :3**

 **THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT**

 _ **G27 FOR FRICKEN LIFE**_

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 **UPDATE: [2016-03-05] I know that it's been, like, a month since I updated, and trust me I am working on the next chapter guys. I'm about 2000 words in. Quite frankly, I was obsessing over Miraculous Ladybug for a while, so I kind of strayed away from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I'M SORRY. I edited this chapter a bit, fixed some grammatical errors, and now I'm fairly satisfied with it.**

 **And, considering that I'm still in the creation process of the next chapter, do you guys have any other neat ideas? I read some from the reviews, and I truly am grateful for them; still, the more the merrier amiright?**

 **Anyway I'll try to update soon! Thank you so much for reading!**

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 **UPDATE #2: [2016-03-30] GUYSSSS IM ALIVVVEEE. So, I edited this chapter again :3 I re-analyzed the tenses that I previously used, and hopefully they're more bearable now? Haha. I'm trying guys. I'll be working on the next chapter for quite... a while... I'm not gonna lie, but I am going to continue this fic, you hear me? I apologize for any inconvenience :3**

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 **UPDATE #3: [2016-04-23] Fixing some formatting issues. Seriously, please tell me if you notice words that shouldn't be there, or when words are squished against each other _likethis._ Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

United Blood

 _Summary: When Vongola Primo retired and passed on the legacy to Secondo, he was aware that Ricardo would turn Vongola, his vigilante group, into Mafia. Thus, when Primo and the rest of his remaining loyal Guardians moved to Japan, he recreated his vigilante group in the form of SAWADA. Vongola Primo turned Sawada Shodaime swore that he and the rest of his Guardians would reincarnate in Secondo's bloodline as the Tenth Generation of Vongola to reconstruct Vongola into its former glory._

 _What Primo didn't count on was needing to wed his great-great-great-great grand daughter, in the form of his reincarnated self as Giotto di Vongola, Vongola Nono's youngest son. G27_

 _Giotto x Fem!Tsu_

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Reborn had known both Tsunaki and Giotto for a very long time. As shocking as it may seem, especially when you consider Reborn's independence as a hitman, he was their legal godfather. Should something ever happen to their parents, he would become their guardian (though something more akin to an _adviser_ ), according to what "legal" paperwork said.

He was present when both of them were born, and was always the third person to hold the baby—after the mother and father, excluding any nurses or doctors. His relations to the Sawada and the Vongola were kept a steady secret. Reborn was renown for vehemently denying any requests to join any famiglia, though he subtly showed signs that he at least had _some_ sort of connection to the Sawada Family by openly tutoring Tsuna—of course they weren't exactly mafia in the first place.

He did not exactly have any strong feelings concerning the Vongola _famiglia,_ but he was close friends with Timoteo. Timoteo trusted Reborn the most when it came to the affairs of Vongola, even if the hitman wasn't necessarily loyal to the famiglia as a whole.

He was loyal to Timoteo, his friend and confidant.

When Giotto was eight, long before the arcobaleno curse was initiated, Reborn mentored Giotto as per Timoteo's request. He taught the boy how to dismantle a gun (he'd only shown the boy _once_ how to do it, and even though the child naturally fumbled for the first few minutes, he got it right around the fifth or sixth try), how to use the environment to aid in battle (read: by throwing him into a hoard of drunken, angry men, in a foreign country with nothing but the clothing on his back), how to man various vehicles (a car, plane, helicopter, boat, motorcycle—even a _train_ )hand-to-hand combat, etc. Giotto was surprisingly good at sniping, though the boy had shown an obvious dislike towards the weapon.

While the future Decimo was competent in other areas of fighting, he shined the most when it came to using his Sky Flames, and consequently, using the I Vongola Gloves. He'd been given the gloves as a gift for surpassing Reborn's _test_ (Giotto had locked himself in his room for days after that particular event, though he accepted the gift with a gracious smile), and soon the hitman realized how much the gauntlets truly suited the heir.

Giotto had grown to be a truly terrifying fighter indeed.

Reborn stopped tutoring Giotto after the blond's sixteenth birthday. There was nothing else that the hitman could have taught Giotto: by the time the teen had gathered his (at the time) pseudo-Guardians, he was an effective fighter, he aced all his academic studies, knew several languages due to Reborn's obsessive perfectionism, and he knew how to handle any and all social situations.

Giotto had been sad to see Reborn go, and even the hitman felt a sense of loss since the boy _had_ been his first (and) successful student. Still, they both understood that it was time to move on.

A few months later, Reborn was requested to tutor fourteen-year-old Dino of the _Cavallone Famiglia_.

Now, Dino—vastly different from the hitman's previous student. He was clumsy as hell, stumbled every fifteen or so steps, and was positively hopeless with both athletic and academic abilities. Still, Reborn wasn't one to give up so easily. He changed his teaching tactics, just slightly, and became even _more_ extreme than he had been with Giotto. But, his efforts were greatly rewarded. The more seemingly hopeless situations he shoved Dino into, the more he relied on his instincts. Thus, he performed marginally better.

Dino, Reborn had long since realized, was not actually so different from Giotto. The younger teen held the same fire in his eyes when it came to protecting comrades, protecting _family._ The moment Reborn had noticed this fire, he knew that Dino would become a great boss.

Perhaps Dino's most noticeable trait was how he performed extremely well when his subordinates were around, at least within a 1km distance. He would do anything to help out his _family_ , and this particular attribute more than made up for his usual uselessness.

Much like his first student, Reborn had to part ways with Dino after he was initiated as the don of the Chiavarone famiglia.

Many, many years later, the hitman finally picked up his third and current student; Tsunaki Sawada. Her circumstances were quite different from his other two students. Perhaps it was because she was female, but Reborn was someone who always disregarded gender. Sexes didn't matter when it came down to who was more worthy of the title of "don", though there were some foolish people out there who still thought as such. No, Tsunaki's circumstances were considered different because she was not to be the boss of a _mafia_ family. Rather, by birthright, she was the future boss of a vigilante group.

Also, unlike his other two students, when Reborn arrived at the Sawada household, gun cocked and ready to shoot, Tsunaki genuinely had _no_ clue of the fate she was to receive. Even Dino had a fair bit of knowledge about the mafia and the Underworld workings, and his level of uselessness was equivalent to his current student. Still, the brunette could not truly be faulted. She grew up as a civilian, while her two predecessors were cultivated from birth to become the dons of their _famiglias._ It was because of her ignorance that she could have easily died at the hands of the Yakuza. Surviving from the assassination attempt had been due to Tsunaki's natural instincts (which was later to be known as _Hyper Intuition_ ), inherited by Primo. Iemitsu was a damn fool for not telling his family anything.

Tsunaki had, to Reborn's great indulgence, traits that were similar to both Giotto and Dino. She was just as, if not _more_ clumsy than Dino, and she held the same conviction to protect her family and friends, just as Giotto did. Reborn quite liked his newest student, despite his questionable actions ("tough love", the hitman called it; he gave mostly the same treatment to all of his students). Seeing Tsuna stumble around all day recalled "fond" memories of his past students.

He didn't see them much anymore. Both Giotto and Dino were preoccupied with their own lives, much like how he was. The hitman, at the very least, saw Giotto once every few months, usually at social events or holidays. However, ever since he was requested to tutor Tsunaki, he seldom got to see his other godchild. Unlike with the case of Dino, Tsunaki lived hundreds of kilometres away from Italy. As Tsuna's home tutor, he was required to stay by her side at all times; or, at the very least, be at close range. If he ever wanted to visit his other godchild, then Reborn would have to travel with his current student.

The dinner with the Vongola and Sawada was the first time Reborn was able to see Giotto in a very long time. He had shared a polite nod with the hitman, and Reborn had returned it with a smirk. They were good at this—silent communication, that is. Even though it appeared to be simply just a "polite nod", it meant more than that.

 _It's great to see you again, Reborn._ Was what he truly meant.

 _Idiot pupil. I see you're holding up well._ Was what his smirk had translated to.

There was a certain bond that Reborn had with his first student. It was probably due to the fact that Giotto was not only his first student, but how Reborn tutored Giotto the longest. Eight years in total, compared to Dino's five or so.

The night had proceeded with the typical boisterous Vongola atmosphere. The members of the Vongola and Sawada families got along famously—it was indeed a pleasant surprise. Relations between both the families in the past were terse at best; they respected each other, yes, but considering the paths of both families, they did butt heads every once in a while. The Tenth Generation of Vongola and Sawada were different, though. There was an underlying familial tone with the members' interactions, and it especially helped that there were literal, blood-related family members present.

Reborn, notably, was definitely not blind to the subtle chemistry between the younger, future bosses.

They'd met many years ago, Reborn knew that much. The dinner appeared to be a reunion of some sort, yet despite the many years apart, conversing was no problem. They clicked easily; Giotto was obviously fairly fond of Tsuna, and Tsuna looked up to Giotto quite a bit, seeing him as a prime role model. Tsunaki recalled good memories when it came to Giotto, it seemed.

Iemitsu and Timoteo had noticed their oddly close bond as well. The look they'd shared when they thought that no one was looking had not gone past Reborn. It was devious, and the hitman didn't like it one bit. Reborn had no trouble connecting the odd look with the even odder meeting that Timoteo had arranged later that night.

It was highly suspicious.

After making sure that his charge was safe within the hotel the Sawada Family was staying at, Reborn made his way to the Vongola mansion. He ran into Giotto on the way; he was disposing a bloodied corpse, a grave robber of some sort. They talked for a bit, the whole situation leaving Reborn a tad bit nostalgic, although their topic was rather forlorn.

Tsunaki... he was concerned about his latest student. Iemitsu had wished for the girl to lead a civilian life, but her fate was inevitable. She was a Sawada, distantly related to Giotto di Vongola, _Ieyasu Sawada_ , the first boss of the Vongola Famiglia (before it reverted to mafia), and later the Sawada Family. It was in her blood, and she was the only viable candidate to succeed Iemitsu. Really, the man was a fool, thinking he could protect his family by hiding everything from them.

Tsunaki would make an excellent boss, that much was for certain, but at what price? Being the Sawada Boss was not an easy job. They were like a humanitarian group, vying to help people, but they hunted down groups and people that were committing less-than-savoury acts. Drug lords were taken care of, those who took an active part in human trafficking were almost immediately slaughtered. The Sawadas, while being a vigilant group, were not entirely innocent. No innocent people were killed under their watch, thankfully, but other guilty people, circumstances considered, would not come out unscathed. Really, the way people were dealt with depended on what kind of boss was leading them. Under Giotto di Vongola, at the time known as Ieyasu Sawada, no one was killed unless it was absolutely necessary, and that included the guilty.

In conclusion, the Sawada Family was completely exposed to the darker parts of the world. The things Tsunaki was more than likely to face would make her absolutely sick and angry. Putting aside her clumsiness and her nasty stroke of bad luck, she was a kind girl that sought out the goodness in everyone. People as genuine as her were not all that common anymore, and Reborn quite honestly dreaded the day her bright, caramel eyes faded into a mere shadow of what it used to be.

He was sure that many other people shared his sentiments.

It was the reason why Guardians existed. They were not only bodyguards, but they kept their Sky sane. They were the reason why many of the previous Bosses hadn't succumbed to darkness and hysteria, and were often the source of strength to many of Tsunaki's predecessors. The same case went for Giotto, since he had his own Guardians, and Dino with his beloved subordinates.

But, it was decided long ago, that while the Guardians did greatly help their bosses, there was another factor that was required for the long-term health and prosperity of each of the boss' reign.

Their spouse.

While most bosses wished not to bring any children into such a dark world, it was required in order to ensure the long-term prosperity of each famiglia. Thus, a suitable spouse would be needed, so that heirs could be created. The spouse of a Boss needed to fulfill certain requirements in order to be seen as truly part of the Family.

They needed to have at least some calibre of combat skills—this was essential, since as the husband or wife of a Boss, they'd likely be targeted by enemy mafia groups and the like. They needed to be a pillar of support for their other half, and was indeed in charge of ensuring that the Boss does not tread the realm of insanity. They needed the capability of having children; if this was compromised, then they would work with the Family's medicinal specialists in order to find a way for them to regain their fertility. Sun Flames were able to repair one's fertility if they were rendered infertile from outside sources. All things considered, the spouse was just as essential to the condition of the Boss as the Guardians were.

Often, famiglias would have their heir marry young, around late-teens to early twenties. Marriages were usually arranged, although the young couple involved would have to agree with the union. Instances where the intended couple hated each other were usually broken off, circumstances considered. After all, the Boss needed a perfectly healthy relationship with their spouse so that the famiglia may live another decade.

However, arranged marriages were only dealt with the older famiglias, like the Vongola. Not many of the newer famiglias practised such a union where these various requirements were needed—these were the famiglias where their Boss' lost their lovers first, be it due to an assassin or a troubled marriage.

Timoteo had married a quiet, stern woman who stood toe-to-toe with her husband when she was alive. Her name was Octavia Angelo, and she'd been a freelance hitman before she met Timoteo, and, eventually, became part of Vongola. She was quite a few years younger than Timoteo, and it was the reason why Timoteo was able to have a son as young as Giotto considering his rather old age. Octavia had died from childbirth after having Giotto, the Ninth's last living son. She'd been ill while pregnant with him, and that coupled with stress and a premature birthing lead to her unfortunate end.

Timoteo, while wounded by her death, steeled himself to raise another child, along with taking care of the affairs of his other children. Reborn was a prominent figure in Giotto's life while he was growing up. Reborn had been there when Octavia died—She'd smiled weakly at him, and told the hitman that she wanted him to be Giotto's godfather. She fell into an eternal slumber soon afterwards, her wailing baby still in her limp arms.

The baby was soon given to a teary-eyed Timoteo, who was grieving the death of his wife.

Naturally, Reborn was able to hold the babe next; Giotto was bloody and screaming in all his glory. His screams soon quieted, bleary blue eyes on the corpse of his mother, as if understanding what was going on.

Reborn realized from then on that Giotto was going to be a strange kid in the future.

Even after being deemed the blond's godfather, Reborn's visitations to the Vongola Mansion were sparse and in between before Giotto's tutoring sessions. Giotto was taught to look up to Reborn as an uncle of some sorts, though in truth the blond could only see Reborn now as his tutor and mentor. It never failed to amuse Reborn.

Many years had passed since then—the hitman often referred to it as the Golden Days, mostly because he'd still been an adult then. Seeing Giotto and Timoteo again in the same room at dinner left the hitman nostalgic, but at the same time he felt that the whole situation was awfully suspicious.

Why now, of all times, would the Vongola and Sawada meet up with each other? Had it been planned? It appeared to be a last-minute ordeal, but Reborn felt that something was up. Even if it was last-minute, Iemitsu wasn't _that_ much of an idiot. The spiky blond-haired man would have called up Reborn through their linked earpieces. For all of Reborn's adaptive skills (and his odd liking towards the unusual), Iemitsu knew the toddler-like hitman disliked situations that he was unable to predict.

The hitman repressed the urge to sigh. It didn't matter. He kept his old friend waiting long enough.

It was past midnight when Reborn finally entered Timoteo's office. With the corpse disposed of and Giotto snoozing away in his room hallways away from his father's office, Reborn was finally able to speak with the Ninth without interruptions.

The child-like hitman shut the door behind him, re-enforcing the lock with his sun flames.

"You didn't call me here to talk about that troublesome mafioso, did you?" Reborn's sharp eyes bored into the elderly man. "I've already reported to you through your agents—I dislike lying to my students—both of them, at that."

It was true. While Reborn was often cryptic and vague when it came to speaking with his students, he never lied to them. That is, until this night—though technically he only lied to Giotto. Tsunaki was blissfully unaware of Reborn's whereabouts.

Timoteo sighed deeply. "I apologize, Reborn. But I did not have any other appropriate excuse to call you over here, especially since Giotto and Alaude are still usually up during these late hours."

Reborn raised his brow, but didn't say anything. He listened to Timoteo speak.

"You know how Alaude is with security, and Giotto can be just as vigilant as his Guardian is. His little affair tonight is an obvious show of that." His lips settled into a grim line. He was obviously aware of the grave robber due to his Hyper Intuition (though not quite as potent as his son's), and he seemed satisfied that Giotto had already dealt with the situation.

Reborn merely nodded in acceptance. "It doesn't matter anymore." He sighed. No point in dwelling on the topic. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Timoteo gestured for the hitman to sit in the chair opposite to him. The older man had a strange look in his eye, and Reborn immediately turned wary. "I... considering that you've been a huge impact to both of them, I think you should know about our plan."

"You're talking about Tsunaki and Giotto." It wasn't a question. "And Iemitsu." Sharp eyes turned into deadly blades. His suspicions were correct. The meeting between the Sawada and Vongola _was_ planned.

Timoteo took a deep breath.

"What are your thoughts on having Giotto and Tsunaki marry?"

"Excuse me." The statement, notably, was not a question. His words came out almost scathingly. Although Reborn surely had not been expecting for such words to come out of his friend's mouth, it was oddly not too surprising. It explained everything, from the two boss' behaviour and the odd meeting between the Sawada and the Vongola.

"Sit down, Reborn." Reborn had stood up from his seat and started pacing around the office. He blatantly ignored Timoteo's request.

"You want Giotto and Tsunaki to marry." He deadpanned. "Are you becoming senile, Timoteo?"

The Ninth chuckled a little, obviously finding the thought amusing. "Well, it was Iemitsu who first came up with the idea."

"That _idiot_ came up with it. Of course he did." Reborn huffed. Iemitsu's stupidity was something to be expected of the CEDEF boss. "Would you mind telling me _why_?"

The older man's expression turned a bit more sombre. "The state of Vongola, Reborn. You've known for a long time that I am not happy with it."

"Neither is Giotto." Reborn pointed out. "He detests the current state of Vongola, and you, Timoteo, should be highly aware of it."

"I am." Timoteo admitted. "Although Giotto doesn't say anything, I am aware of his... protests to the way I've handled things in the past, especially with the case of Xanxus."

The Cradle Incident, or the Cradle Affair. Giotto had gotten into heated arguments with his father for that.

"With the death of my other sons-" Timoteo's face tinged with grief. "-Giotto is the most viable candidate to be _Decimo,_ as he is not only the last of my biological sons, but he has shown the most overwhelming potential."

"What does this have to do with Tsunaki?" Reborn asked coolly.

"Giotto will be officially initiated as Vongola Decimo in less than a year. Do you recall what happened with the case of myself after I was initiated as _Vongola Nono_?"

"You were pressured for several years to get married." Reborn said. "Many famiglias were throwing women at your feet with ill intentions. Some threatened to wage a war with Vongola if you did not accept a particular union."

It had been an incredibly messy affair. The amount of offers, and in some cases, _threats_ thrown at Timoteo (a handsome young lad at the time) were seemingly endless, and was often the cause of excess grief for the Vongola Famiglia. The Vongola knew how important it was to choose a proper spouse, and the superficial women that had been brought up were not capable of sharing the burden of the famiglia with the Boss.

"A decade later, you married Octavia." Reborn continued. "Since then, the offers died down significantly, although many other famiglias and yakuza groups became bitter."

Timoteo nodded solemnly. "I wish for such an event to not happen to Giotto. Once was already enough—the fact that my son is the apparent _second coming_ of Primo does not help at all. Since Giotto wants to change Vongola's ways to resemble something more akin to what is now the Sawada Family, he will already be incredibly occupied. Rome wasn't built in a day, Reborn."

The hitman hummed in agreement. There were a lot of things to be dealt with if Giotto truly wanted to revert Vongola back to what it used to be, including several different procedures and the affairs occurring within the famiglia. Namely, the Vongola Famiglia would no longer be responsible for unfounded blood baths, human trafficking, child labour, slavery rings, drug dealing, and the like. Instead, they would work to _prevent_ that, and would actively destroy these aforementioned immoral "activities". Blood would only be shed when required, and those who step out of line—those who partake in such acts—would be dealt with.

By all means they would pretty much become exactly like the Sawada Family.

"You and Iemitsu plan on hitting two birds with one stone." Reborn had a rather good idea of Timoteo's reasoning now. He had to admit that the plan was rather beneficial to both sides of the Families. "Giotto's ideals coincides with the ideals of the Sawada Family, and, by extension, Primo. You want to unite both the Vongola and Sawada since the union of Giotto and Tsunaki will not only save the Family from grief with the whole matrimony process, but it will also bring back Vongola to its former glory under the guidance of Vongola Primo."

"Exactly." Timoteo said. "Iemitsu and I have been discussing a union for quite a while now." He stood up from his grand seat, cool brown eyes burning with resolve.

"It's time Reborn." Nono said, voice deep and gravelly. " _For the Vongola and Sawada to unite_. These estranged siblings have been apart for far too long."

A slow smirk formed on Reborn's child-like face. Things were going to get absolutely _chaotic._

Chaos.

It was exactly what Reborn signed up for.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

Nana Sawada frowned at her husband's behaviour. Admittedly, it'd been years since they were able to properly interact with each other, but Nana liked to think that she was a rather good judge of character.

Unlike what most people presumed, the brunette was not oblivious. She was fully aware of her husband's job, although she'd never been properly informed of what it exactly was; not from Iemitsu, not from Reborn, and especially not from her dearest daughter.

She suspected. When the (at the time) baby hitman waltzed into the Sawada household with a cold and calculating gaze, she knew that any sense of normalcy that she'd experienced thus far was going to be thrown out the window. She threw on a carefully molded mask of obliviousness, of _deception_ , and allowed Reborn to completely shake the foundations of a once relatively normal household. She'd been expecting it for years, ever since Iemitsu's sudden and frequent disappearances, and she'd been prepared.

She was unsure if that was the case with her sweet, clumsy daughter, though, but Nana clung onto the hope that her baby was going to be fine in the hands of Reborn. Exactly _why_ Reborn had come in the first place, well, she didn't really know.

Tsunaki had been notably skittish a day before Reborn had showed up on their doorstep, though. Her daughter had refused to say anything about it, and Nana reluctantly decided to stay silent. She'd mentally wondered whether it was a mistake to stay quiet over the matter, but the pleading gaze that Tsunaki had sent her way caused her tongue to knot up uncomfortably. Who could say no to such a face?

Certainly not the sweet girl's mother.

The distant look in Iemitsu's eyes made Nana pause from her musings. He looked incredibly serious, and his expression was dark. He wasn't drinking any alcohol, which was strange considering that was what he normally did in the later hours.

Nana cursed her mask of deception, cursed her inability to say anything about her husband's strange behaviour. A sense of foreboding scuttled down her spine, and she found herself becoming queasy. After sending another quick glance to her husband's directions, she curled further into her thick bedsheets, whispering a sweet, "Good night."

Iemitsu would not join her until several minutes later, and even then the man stayed awake for the majority of the night.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

Halls away from her parents' room, Tsunaki was blissfully asleep. Her arms were tight around a fluffy white pillow, and drool dribbled down her chin. The night was silent.

All was good.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

Several rooms away from his father's office, Giotto shivered in his sleep. He tugged a thick satin blanket up to his chin, stubbornly burrowing his nose into his pillow.

He was unaware of the meeting unfolding between his mentor and father.

Another shiver wracked down his spine, but this time no amount of layers could suppress the cold feeling.

Hyper Intuition worked in the most subtle of ways.

* * *

 **A/N: If I were to ever name a chapter, I'd probably call this one the "Calm Before the Storm". Yes, I know, I know, not much actual G27 interaction with this chapter, but I value my plot man. I wanted to elaborate more on my little AU world, especially the interactions between Reborn and Giotto/Tsuna. I am aware that I said in the first chapter that Reborn only taught Giotto in self-defence, but I made up more stuff on the spot while writing this chapter. I'll probably edit the first chapter the next time I get the chance to.**

 **Anyway, yes, this is a slightly shorter chapter compared to the other ones. I'm sorry XD. I honest to God had no clue where I was going with this story, and I was unsure of how to execute this chapter. I'm serious, guys. If you want me to continue this story then suggestions would help me GREATLY. I'm doing some brainstorming myself, but I want to hear from you guys as well.**

 **On another note, thank you for all the Views/Favourites/Follows/Reviews! I'll try to update when I get the next burst of energy to write :3**


	4. Chapter 4

United Blood

 _Summary: When Vongola Primo retired and passed on the legacy to Secondo, he was aware that Ricardo would turn Vongola, his vigilante group, into Mafia. Thus, when Primo and the rest of his remaining loyal Guardians moved to Japan, he recreated his vigilante group in the form of SAWADA. Vongola Primo turned Sawada Shodaime swore that he and the rest of his Guardians would reincarnate in Secondo's bloodline as the Tenth Generation of Vongola to reconstruct Vongola into its former glory._

 _What Primo didn't count on was needing to wed his great-great-great-great grand daughter, in the form of his reincarnated self as Giotto di Vongola, Vongola Nono's youngest son. G27_

 _Giotto x Fem!Tsu_

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

Giotto was honest to God going to die from boredom.

His face was carefully crafted into an attentive expression, and it appeared that he was deeply invested with the topic of the meeting to anyone glancing his way.

In truth, he was bored. So, incredibly bored.

What started as an event that would only last for an hour gradually escalated into a three hour meeting, thrice as long as he originally anticipated. Was the alliance between the Vongola and the Digirolamo Famiglia really that important? Since his father had allowed the meeting to go _greatly_ overtime, apparently it was.

"What do you think, Decimo?" A representative from the Digirolamo Famiglia asked. "Are these terms suitable for an alliance?"

A long sheet of parchment was passed to Giotto. He scanned the major terms with a critical eye, and the other representatives shifted uncomfortably. He noticed the Digirolamo boss tense, ever so slightly. If Vongola Decimo did not agree with the terms, then it would have to be revised _again._ It had been revised many times throughout the meeting due to the past drafts not being satisfactory to Nono, and in order for the alliance to be properly initiated, both the predecessor and the successor had to accept it.

Giotto nodded sharply. "I believe the terms are appropriate." He turned to his father, silently begging for Timoteo to sign the treaty so that he could get _out_ of the damn, stuffy room. "It is your decision now, Nono."

"We agree with the terms." Nono declared, and there seemed to be collective sighs of relief. "The Vongola/Digirolamo Treaty of 20XX will commence at once. The alliance is official."

Timoteo and Giotto were ready to leave when the Digirolamo boss spoke up. "If you both do not mind, I would actually like to propose another offer, now that the alliance is formalized."

Giotto mentally cussed (sweet, sweet freedom had to wait a little longer), but outwardly he was polite and dignified. "As long as it is okay with Nono." He said neutrally. Nono made a gesture of agreement, and they both settled down in their leather seats once more.

"I have a daughter; her name is Rosetta." The boss started.

Giotto and Timoteo simultaneously winced (inwardly). They both knew fully well where the topic was going, based off of experience if anything.

"She's around Decimo's age. Rosetta can fight well—she's been trained in combat ever since the day she could walk. Rosetta would have become the next boss if she'd been the first born, but alas such was not the case." The middle-aged man leaned forward, hands clasped neatly over the table. A ruby-red gem gleamed from the ring he was wearing. "I was wondering if you could consider a possible union between my daughter and Decimo."

Timoteo didn't even blink. "I'm afraid we'll have to decline." he said, forcing an apologetic look on his elderly face.

"May I inquire why?" The Digirolamo boss asked. His lips were pursed. He obviously disliked their blatant disagreement on the marriage.

This man was going to be stubborn, Giotto realized, bracing himself for the long conversation that they were surely to have.

In the past, similar cases occurred where an alliance resulted in a request for marriage between two people from both families. There had been particularly stubborn people in the past that were hell-bent on the idea, and it always ended with either Giotto or Timoteo asserting their dominance over the matter. Unfortunately, it also strained the relationships between the Vongola and those the Vongola were allied to, even if the aforementioned families insisted that there were no hard feelings. It was a rather difficult predicament to deal with.

"My son is already promised to another young lady."

Giotto choked on his spit, and quickly composed himself before anyone noticed. He'd expected the same dawdling reasons as to _why_ Giotto couldn't marry so-and-so, and it would take at least half an hour of discussions before the other famiglia would finally relent.

But saying that he was already engaged? That... he did not expect.

"I see." The Digirolamo boss looked contrite. "I apologize. I should have known that Decimo already had someone in his life. He is a young man, after all."

Giotto bit his tongue and went along with the "lie". He would ask his father later why he had not decided to do the "usual", like how they had often handled the other similar situations in the past.

After exchanging pleasant farewells, Timoteo and Giotto were escorted out of the meeting room. The Vongola bodyguards posted outside of the room formed a cage around their boss(es), and they were lead to the limo without interruption.

Inside the safety of the limo, Giotto finally burst.

"Why did you lie to them, father?"

There was a ghost of a smile on the older man's face. Giotto found himself becoming wary.

"I didn't lie, Giotto." Timoteo said, and the younger blond man froze.

"Who is it?" He asked sharply. "Who is it, and _why_? I thought you would allow me to handle this whole marriage business myself."

"Hmmm. You dislike the current state of Vongola, don't you, Giotto?" There was a knowing expression exerting from his wrinkly face. He had a weary gleam in his eyes that made him appear ten years older, and the grip that he had on his sceptre was tight.

The question was rhetorical.

Giotto furrowed his brows. What did _that_ have to do with anything? Nonetheless he answered without missing a beat.

"I do." He admitted. "I don't agree with the things Vongola has done in the past."

"You wish to change Vongola? For the better?" Of _course_ Timoteo knew the answer to the question already. He just wanted to hear his son's response out loud.

"Will you stop me?"

Timoteo actually chuckled a little. "Ah, why would I? I'm not quite happy with the things that I have done in the past either."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Giotto asked, a little exasperated.

Timoteo sighed, and rubbed his face with a calloused hand. "You wish to change Vongola for the better; are you aware of how much time and effort it will take to convert a famiglia as bloody as the Vongola?"

"I am." Giotto muttered darkly. Determination was clear as day in his azure blue eyes. "I'm prepared for that."

"If you're gonna change Vongola for the better, then you're going to have to make new alliances, like with the Digirolamo Famiglia." Timoteo's tone of voice grew more grave. "You are twenty-four years old now, Giotto, an eligible bachelor in the eyes of most people. You are also going to be _Vongola Decimo._ The moment you officially take up the mantle, famiglias will be throwing eligible women at your feet faster than you can blink. They'll offer up proposals every day, and some will even have the gall to _threaten_ you AND the family." Timoteo sighed deeply. "You already know how difficult it is to deny marriage request and _not_ offend the other famiglia."

Giotto was silent. Indeed... it would be a complete disaster. From the wary look in his father's eyes, he was speaking from experience; Giotto was already going to have his hands full changing the Vongola. Dealing with the other famiglias was proving to be a hassle.

"I understand, father." Giotto said. His head was still reeling from all the information. "But who exactly did you have in your mind when you told the Digirolamo boss that I was engaged?"

Timoteo pursed his lips. He was unsure of what Giotto's reaction was going to be, but _hopefully_ it wouldn't be as bad as what he was anticipating.

He made sure that they were looking at each other eye-to-eye (grizzly brown against boundless blue) when the following words left his mouth:

"It's Tsunaki Sawada."

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

"You haven't told her yet?" Reborn's eyebrow twitched. "Don't you think you've hidden enough things from Tsunaki in your lifetime, stupid Iemitsu?"

Iemitsu looked like he wanted to complain about the insult, but he didn't. "I know." He said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I _am_ going to tell her. I'm just trying to figure out exactly _how._ You know how badly she reacts to things like this."

"And you know how badly she reacts to _secrets_." Reborn quipped harshly. "If you're not gonna tell her, stupid Iemitsu, then _I_ am."

The hitman was just about to walk out of the room, but then he paused. "Weren't _you_ the one who brought up the union in the first place?"

"I meant it as a joke at first." Iemitsu said wryly. "It was years ago, actually. Back when Timoteo and Giotto visited the Sawada household—Tsuna was instantly attached to Giotto. Talking about them getting married was a passing comment if anything." Iemitsu cracked his knuckles. "But over time things changed. _Circumstances_ changed. Vongola is at a tight spot, with Giotto officially taking over very soon, and while I'm sure that Tsu-chan would make a great boss, she's inexperienced. There's still so much that she needs to learn, and generally the life expectancy of any boss—especially that of the Sawada Family—is rather short."

"Timoteo is an exception." Reborn said. "And that's because he was positively _ruthless_ in the past. Besides, isn't the reason why Tsuna's so inexperienced because of _you_?"

Iemitsu winced. "Yeah... it is. I don't know what I was thinking, leaving Nana and Tsuna at Namimori. It's just, it's _dangerous_. I don't expect to be alive in the next five years, and I'd rather not die knowing that my daughter was going to be dead by the time, or maybe even _before_ she reached forty years old. I didn't want them to get involved."

"By marrying Nana and taking part in Tsuna's birth, yougot them _involved_." Reborn huffed. "Your idiocy is baffling."

Iemitsu didn't deny it. He simply sighed.

"You know the statistics though, Reborn." He said. "Bosses don't live that long, but I have a feeling that Tsuna will die at an old age by Giotto's side. You know that they're both equally passionate about family, and that they'll protect each other with everything they've got. You can't deny that it's a good match."

As much as Reborn didn't want to admit it (only because it was Iemitsu), Iemitsu was right. They say that lovers generally learn languages easier if one of them was fluent; the lover that couldn't speak that particular language would vie to learn it so that they could deepen their relationship, so they could _understand_ their lover better. The saying could apply to Giotto and Tsuna. Giotto was the one fluent in a different language: he was comfortable with the title and duty of "boss", well-versed in dealing with paperwork, people, subordinates, mafia-politics and the like. Tsuna, in this case, would be the inexperienced one. If she and Giotto were to get together, then Tsuna would learn so much more about being a boss due to constantly being by Giotto's side.

Of course, it went without saying that if the Vongola and Sawada were to merge, there would need to be _two_ bosses—Giotto and Tsuna. They would have an equal standing with each other, and if one boss didn't agree with something then a beneficial compromise would have to be made (circumstances considered and all). The workload would be divided evenly, and thus the heavy burden normally weighing down the boss would lessen.

Combining Iemitsu's explanation with Timoteo's (and, of course, his own thoughts on the matter), Reborn had to admit that the union was _incredibly_ beneficial to both sides, especially to the party in question.

Giotto and Tsuna would become quite the intimidating power couple, and with the Guardians ( _Twelve_ of them in total, if the merger was a success, and not to mention all of the _Vongola Rings_ being complete again.) at their side—

The hitman smirked. _No one_ would dare to mess with the Vongola ever again.

"Stupid Iemitsu, you better tell Tsuna about the marriage by the end of the day. I'm sure that Timoteo's already told Giotto about it by now."

Iemitsu nodded. "I will." he said. And he meant it.

Reborn titled his fedora and strode out of the room.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

The silence was deafening.

Giotto had not become _this_ quiet since he received word about the Cradle Affair, about how his father was inevitably forced to detain Xanxus, his adoptive older brother.

That had been _years_ ago.

(It had been Giotto, too, that had had enough of Xanxus's captivity in the ice and unfroze him.)

"Father." Giotto said, disturbingly calm. "Did you just tell me... that you intended for me to marry Tsunaki? Tsu-na-ki? Sawada?"

Timoteo nodded. The next sentence that came out of his son's mouth completely threw him off guard.

"Father, is that even _legal_?!

Timoteo couldn't help it; he laughed. Out of all the things he expected for his son to say, it _certainly_ wasn't that. It was a pleasant surprise.

"I heard the age consent in Japan, at its lowest, is thirteen." Timoteo chortled. "Tsunaki is a fine young woman—"

"—I _really_ don't want to hear that from you."

"—and while she's quite inexperienced, I'm sure you can show her the ropes."

His father's words made Giotto pause.

"By 'show her the ropes' I'm sure that you aren't talking about relationship-wise." Giotto said.

"Indeed. Let me be frank with you, son. Iemitsu and I—"

"—wanted a merger between the Vongola and the Sawada." The younger blond finished, deadpan.

Timoteo started. He raised a taut brow.

"I had a feeling." Giotto started to explain, sighing. "I was restless last night; I slept for hours yet when I woke up I felt exhausted. I knew that there was something odd going on."

He stared up at the roof of the limo, reminiscent. "Reborn visited that night too. I gave you two the benefit of doubt, figured that you and Reborn were just going to catch up like old friends, in the guise of Reborn delivering a report to you, of course. You haven't seen each other in a really long time, after all. But... Combining my _intuition,_ Reborn's visit, and everything that's happened today... it all made sense."

Giotto was very much aware of the benefits that would come with the merger between the Sawada and the Vongola. For many years, the Vongola and Sawada were estranged, and mostly kept out of each other's ways. Even though Timoteo and Iemitsu were good friends, there were still obvious signs of unease between the two families. The ninth generation of both families could really do nothing else to help better the relationship between the Sawada and the Vongola.

On the other hand, the tenth generation _can._

It would be difficult to merge the two families as is because of their rather strained past. The only unshakable, undisputed way to merge the Vongola and the Sawada were if the bosses of each family were to form some type of union between each other.

In this case, it was marriage.

The fact that the Guardians (of both the Sawada and Vongola) had a few blood relations between each other only strengthened the idea of a merger.

"You and Tsunaki would become the bosses." Timoteo said quietly. "Your ideals are similar, and you at least _know_ each other. I'm not quite marrying you off to a stranger."

Right. He was marrying _Tsunaki_ , the rather quiet (and yet very vocal) girl that exerted an odd sort of charisma and charm, akin to Giotto's.

Perhaps it was because she was also a _Sky._

She certainly fit the bill.

"What about Tsunaki?" He asked. "Does she know about this, or..." His vibrant blue eyes narrowed. "Is she just as in the dark as I was?"

Timoteo sighed. "By the end of this day, young Tsunaki should be notified."

Giotto sighed.

"I'll accept this engagement, on one condition." For a second, Timoteo thought that his son's eyes flashed a shade of burning orange.

"What is it?"

"Tsunaki must give her consent." He said resolutely. "I won't force her to marry me." The mere thought of it left a bad taste in his mouth. The idea of coercing someone into matrimony bothered him (it was the reason why he was usually so put off by arranged marriages), but, at the very least, if it were to happen, both parties should be consenting.

"Of course." Timoteo smiled. "You have my word on that."

Giotto leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He felt an oncoming migraine, and he silently apologized to Tsuna for indirectly dragging her into the mess.

His Guardians were going to have a field day when they find out about his predicament.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

Reborn was lounging on his hammock when a piercing "HIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" rang through the building. He idly wondered if it was a good idea to leave Iemitsu with the explanations. The scream was followed by a few of the Guardians' footsteps, concerned for the seemingly distressed state of their boss.

"Who am I kidding?" He snorted to himself. "That was a terrible idea."

He slumped back into his hammock without a care for the world.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

"Jyuudaime!"

"Tsuna!"

Gokudera and Yamamoto had burst into the room the moment they heard their friend's infamous "HIEEEEEEEE!", something that she'd been outgrowing over the past two years. Its sudden reappearance startled the two.

It was a curious sight. Tsuna's face was a deep shade of red, and her mouth was hanging open. She looked immensely shocked, and seemed to be just about ready to fall off the couch that she was seated on. Across from her, Iemitsu's face was unusually solemn.

Iemitsu glanced in their direction and managed a reassuring (not) smile, but it appeared that Tsuna didn't even notice the appearance of her two Guardians. Whatever Iemitsu had told her had shocked her to the core.

"Jyuudaime! Are you okay?!"

Tsuna's head snapped up. She mumbled incoherently, finding it difficult to string the right words together.

Iemitsu scratched the back of his head. 'Maybe I shouldn't have been so upfront about it.' he mused.

After sputtering for a few more moments, Tsunaki managed to compose a rather straightforward (and completely expected) response. "You want me to marry Gio-nii?!"

"JYUUDAIME? YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED? TO VONGOLA-SAMA?!" Saying that the Storm Guardian was surprised was an understatement. Even so, Gokudera was over the moon. If it had been anyone other than his uncle's boss, then he would have probably gotten into a fit. After all, he'd known Giotto for years. After his mother's death, G had taken Gokdera to stay at the Vongola Mansion (since that's where G lived) and over the years he'd gotten to Giotto rather well (he was also present during Giotto's elaborate escape plans from the mansion, claiming that it was "stuffy." The (at the time) pseudo-Guardians always had to fetch the young man from the local town; it was the destination of a good majority of his escapades.)

Yamamoto had a far more subdued reaction; in other words, he was as oblivious as always. "Wao! Congrats, Tsuna!" His words were followed by an airy laugh.

Tsunaki stared at the baseball-lover, eye twitching. ' _Yamamoto... that is_ not _a normal reaction_ _people get after hearing that their_ _sixteen-year-old_ _friend was getting engaged_ _!'_

She turned an accusing glare at her father. "Explain everything. Now." There was a biting edge to her tone that made the man wince (it appeared that she had gotten over her initial shock). Ah, so Tsunaki seemed to be mastering her "boss" tone.

Iemitsu coughed. "There are several reasons why." He said.

' _But to_ _marry_ _Gio-nii?'_ She silently shrieked in her head. She may have seemingly composed herself, but on the inside she was still freaking out.

So Iemitsu carefully (for once) explained _everything_ —the changed circumstances, Giotto's ideals, his plans to change Vongola, and the inevitable merger.

"It's not just an alliance." Iemitsu was saying. "We don't just sign a contract and go about different ways. The two families are literally joining and creating a new unit, and we need solidified proof that the Sawada and Vongola would become one and the same."

"So marriage?" Tsunaki asked weakly. She shook her head, trying to upheaval the need to claw her hair out. It was all too much to take in.

"Yes." Iemitsu's gaze grew uncharacteristically soft. ' _You have every right to be upset with what I'm putting you through.'_ He thought.

"I really am sorry, Tsu-chan." Iemitsu said, head hanging. "The father side of me is screaming at me for letting something like this happen. I've made many stupid, idiotic decisions in the past, but something is telling me that this merger is needed."

Tsunaki bit her lip. This was probably the first time that her father had shown her true remorse in years. Oddly enough, she wasn't upset with the turn of events. Just surprised. After the things she'd experienced in the past, ever since Reborn became her tutor, marriage was not the most _abnormal_ idea she'd ever heard about.

(But still, the sane part of Tsuna was currently screaming over the fact that she was going to marry Gio- _nii_ , the man that she'd thought of as more of an older brother. She decided that she would properly express her emotions in the safety of her room; hopefully Reborn would let her do that much.)

"In the end, the choice is yours." Iemitsu sighed. "Knowing Giotto, he'd decapitate me if I didn't at least give you a few options _._ If you don't wish to get married, we could work around it and try to merge the Vongola and the Sawada in some other way—although it would be significantly harder and much more strenuous. You and Giotto would still be the Co-Bosses, but the both of you will get pressured to get married to other people and produce heirs whom will, in turn, likely get pushed to marry each other for the very same reasons I've stated today."

Tsunaki blanched. So it was either marry Giotto and get everything over with, or make the merging process last even _longer_ , and force her future son or daughter to get married to Giotto's future son or daughter.

Tsunaki knew that she'd cause her family and Giotto even more trouble if she didn't accept this marriage, and Tsuna certainly did not want to be any more of a burden to either of the aforementioned people. She also did not want to demean her future children to a similar fate because of her own selfishness.

"A real boss would sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of their family." Reborn would say. Anyway, it wasn't like she was _unhappy_ with having to marry Gio-nii. Right now, she was just trying to get used to the idea.

The choice was rather obvious.

"I'll... marry Gio-nii." She said quietly, and she heard Gokudera and her father release a breath. She started. She'd almost forgotten how her Guardians were present as well.

"Don't worry, Jyuudaime." Her self-proclaimed right-hand man put a hand on her shoulder. "Vongola-sama is a good man—I've known him for years, you know."

Tsuna's eyes widened.

"Really?" Yamamoto asked, with a wide grin. "You've never mentioned that before!" Really, Gokudera never mentioned much about his past _at all_. Finding out that G was Gokudera's uncle back at the dinner with the Vongola had been news to Tsuna as well.

'I still don't know that much about the people I consider my family.' She thought sadly.

"I lived at the Vongola Mansion for a few years after Uncle G took me in, baseball-nut." Gokudera reluctantly explained. "I've lived there before Reborn offered me to become Jyuudaime's right-hand man."

"Maa, see Tsuna!" Yamamoto patted Tsunaki's back. "Gokudera _supports_ you and Decimo. That's saying a lot!"

"Oi, quit touching Jyuudaime so casually, you sword freak!" The Storm Guardian shouted, and Yamamoto laughed.

The two Guardians squabbled for a bit, and Tsuna smiled softly.

Iemitsu watched the scene from the sidelines. The outcome of the revelation was not as bad as he thought it was going to be. He was almost certain that Gokudera was going to put up a fuss about his precious "Jyuudaime" getting married, but it appeared that Giotto was one of the strange, few exceptions.

The young man had probably accepted the marriage, and his daughter seemed inclined to the idea. It was more than he and Timoteo could ever ask for.

Everything was going well.

Too well.

It was almost unsettling.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

Giotto groaned as he dropped lifelessly on his bed. He loosened his tie, and undid the first few buttons of his dress shirt. His smooth, expensive Italian leather shoes were left abandoned at the foot of the bed, and his tie was soon thrown in the same general direction.

His Guardians were the next to be informed about his "engagement". They were told the same night after dinner, in Giotto's office. Their reactions were what Giotto pretty much expected, but the experience was no less draining.

G had teased him, saying that it was good to have someone to keep check on him. Still, he had voiced his concerns on marrying a rather young woman, to which Giotto agreed to. He hoped that he could at least extend the engagement 'till Tsunaki turned eighteen.

Asari had congratulated him, and Knuckle excitedly asked if he could conduct the ceremony. The Rain Guardian had to remind the Sun Guardian that he wasn't a priest anymore (although Knuckle had been the one to perform Fredrico's funeral, this being because the priest who normally took care of the funerals died from old age. It was a last minute call, and technically Knuckle was still a priest from deep down in his heart. He was also the only one the Vongola could trust to handle the ceremony—After all, they couldn't just call in some random other priest. They would be put in danger for affiliating themselves with the Vongola). Knuckle had pouted, saying that he was _extremely_ disappointed.

Daemon had laughed creepily, and called Giotto a cradle robber. He would have said more if not for Giotto's cold gaze and threat to tell both Elena _and_ Chrome about the man's secret stash of lingerie* magazines. Daemon had easily shut up after Giotto's claim, knowing completely well that he would go through with it.

Alaude had given Giotto a hard look, muttering about how he would, "Arrest this carnivore to death for illicit relations with a minor". Giotto didn't say anything to that, his father's voice telling him that technically Tsunaki _was_ legal echoing in his mind like a broken record.

Lampo had merely blinked, unwrapped a sucker, and plucked it into his mouth. He never really cared about news unless it actually affected him. He voiced said opinion.

"It does affect you, Lampo." Giotto had said tiredly. "Because this marriage is for a merger between the Vongola and Sawada."

Now, _this_ is what immediately caught all of the Guardians' attention.

Giotto had then explained about how his father and Iemitsu wanted to join the Vongola and Sawada. "The Vongola will become a mix between vigilante and mafia in a sense." The blond Sky had said. "More so the former than the latter. You guys should all know what I intend to do with this famiglia when I officially take over."

The Guardians said nothing, but hung on to each and every word that came out of their boss's mouth. Even Daemon appeared to be interested.

"As a result of the merger, Tsunaki and I will become Co-Bosses." He had said. "Do you guys know what this means for the Guardians?"

"The Rings!" G had exclaimed. The other Guardians had suddenly sat up a little straighter, coming to the same conclusions as well.

The Vongola Rings, which were split in half many years ago, would be united once more— complete Sky, Storm, Rain, Sun, Mist, Cloud, and Lightning Rings, back to where they belonged, working together in the same Family.

The Sawada and Vongola had stood strong for decades with each of the Rings _halved._ If the Guardians of each Family worked together, as a single unit, then—

The evangelized Vongola would become _freakishly_ strong.

Giotto knew that the merger would completely shake the foundations of Vongola forever.

He rolled to his side on the grand bed, attempting to take a nap but failing miserably. His mind was completely occupied.

Before Giotto had told the Guardians about his engagement, Timoteo told him that Tsunaki had consented to the marriage. Apparently Iemitsu had finally gotten around to telling his daughter about the arrangement. He was, admittedly, rather shocked. He wouldn't have been surprised if the younger girl was against the engagement—marriage was a huge commitment, after all, especially since their union was used to solidify the merger between the vigilante group and the bloody mafia famiglia.

He felt awful for roping Tsunaki into the troublesome predicament, even if it was technically inevitable. He promised himself that he would be there for the younger girl every step of the way, so that the marriage wouldn't cause problems that would create a rift between not only the two families, but the two as individuals.

He truly did like Tsunaki a lot, and he would loathe if the marriage resulted in the girl hating him.

* * *

 **A/N: It's been a month since I last updated—I apologize. My muse hasn't been co-operating with me lately _ And yes, I am rather miffed about the way I ended this chapter as welllllll. I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer, and I reached my 5000 word mark so—.**

 **I may or may not edit this chapter a couple days from now with a more distinct end to the chapter :3**

 **OH, AND BEFORE I FORGET**

 ***My headcanon is that reincarnated Daemon is a perv.**

 **Please inform me about any grammar mistakes, and thanks for reading~**


	5. Chapter 5

United Blood

 _Summary: When Vongola Primo retired and passed on his legacy to Secondo, he was aware that Ricardo would turn Vongola, his vigilante group, into Mafia. Thus, when Primo and the rest of his remaining loyal Guardians moved to Japan, he recreated his vigilante group in the form of SAWADA. Vongola Primo turned Sawada Shodaime swore that he and the rest of his Guardians would reincarnate in Secondo's bloodline as the Tenth Generation of Vongola to reconstruct Vongola into its former glory._

 _What Primo didn't count on was needing to wed his great-great-great-great grand daughter, in the form of his reincarnated self as Giotto di Vongola, Vongola Nono's youngest son. G27_

 _Giotto x Fem!Tsu_

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

After reassuring herself that Reborn wasn't lounging in her hotel suite, Tsunaki carefully crawled under her queen-sized bed, ensuring not to bump her head against the bed frame. No one, other than her parents and Reborn, knew about this odd habit. Her father (when he _was_ present at home, that is) used to jokingly tease about how Tsunaki was oh-so-brave, since monsters _supposedly_ lived under the bed. The brunette admitted that it was a tad bit strange, since anything remotely supernatural usually sent the girl into a frenzy. Yet, she found solace in hiding in small spaces (she was surprisingly not claustrophobic, as many people would usually assume), and for some reason or another she thought of small spaces as sanctuaries.

The brunette lay down flat on the cold floor, arms and legs splayed out. Caramel eyes peered at the wooden, accordion-like planks attached to the bed frame; they were the only reason why she wasn't being suffocated to death by the sheer weight of the huge mattress.

It was late in the evening, and she was finally left to her own devices. The afternoon had used up all her energy, even though hours had passed since Iemitsu dropped the bomb. Tsunaki was still trying to process everything. It all seemed so surreal.

She was going to get married to Gio-nii.

She was going to _marry_ Gio-nii.

She, _Tsunaki Sawada,_ Dame-Tsuna, idiot-pupil extraordinaire was going to **marry** _Giotto di Vongola._

You had to pardon Tsuna for her strong urge to faint.

She was only sixteen, for heaven's sake—she hadn't even finished highschool yet! (She scored painfully average grades, in fact, which was significantly better than how she did in middle-school. She had been barely passing, but her steady tutoring with Reborn resulted in a few respectable 80s.)

Was she expected to marry Gio-nii right away? She wasn't ready for that! Not even a week ago she was sitting in health class, blanching (and resisting, yet again, the urge to faint) at a video of a woman giving birth to _quadruplets._

 _W_ _ait a minute._ If she was going to marry Gio-nii...

...was she expected to have his kin as well?

"Oh my God." She whimpered to herself. It was expected of her to have children, wasn't it? Prestigious families like the Vongola needed _heirs_ to continue the lineage, emphasis on _heirs._ Reborn had told her once that famiglia heads tended to have more than one child, just in case something happened to the elder children.

(Giotto and his deceased older siblings were a prime example of that, although Tsunaki wasn't quite aware of this yet)

The brunette slapped her cheeks until they became laden with a light shade of red. She counted to ten (which, honestly, did not help ease her anxiety), and forced herself to calm down.

"I'm doing this for my family." Tsunaki told herself with fierce conviction. For her family, and not just the Sawada. She was also doing this to aid the Vongola, namely Nono ( _"Call me Grandpa!" The man said, laughing heartily as Tsunaki shyly peeked out from behind her father's broad form._ ), and Giotto ( _"Tsunaki, is it?" His azure eyes smiled. "That's a pretty name."_ )

She knew that she was lucky, that, of all people, she would get to marry _Gio-nii._ She could have been forced to marry a complete stranger and been told to deal with it. Giotto had even given her a choice, at least, according to what her father had told her many hours before. And, well, she _knew_ Gio-nii. Maybe not as well as she would like to, but Tsuna was confident that Giotto was a person that she'd truly grow to love. She admired him now, certainly, and she wasn't going to deny that she was rather attracted to him (weren't all Skies like that?), but she would be lying if she said that she truly, deeply _loved_ him.

Her Hyper Intuition usually warned her about sketchy people, or people with less-than-benevolent intentions. Since she hadn't been filled with _dreaddreaddreaddonottrustdonottrust_ around the future don, she had the comfort of knowing that her future husband (the blush came back full-force) wasn't secretly planning to murder the stray puppies next door.

Tsunaki couldn't imagine how _Giotto_ _himself_ was feeling about the turn of events. Was he disgruntled by the fact that he would have to marry her? She was rather young, after all, and there wasn't _really_ anything special about her either. She'd been a simple, painfully average Japanese middle-school student before Reborn decided to wreck his way into her life. Okay, maybe she might not even be considered as _average._ To be given a nickname like Dame-Tsuna, well, let's just say that Tsunaki's first impressions were never really that impressive.

Even some of her _Guardians_ had not been too impressed by Tsuna upon first meetings. Those that never really thought ill of her were Yamamoto, Ryohei, and surprisingly Hibari.

The three had notably attended school with Tsuna through the earlier years of her life, and had probably seen her get trampled by the rest of society.

(Lambo, her Lightning Guardian, was also excluded as well, but his circumstances were a bit different. Lambo was a bit of a brat, and was a prat to _everyone_ he met. It was impossible to decipher how he truly perceived everyone. The boy seemed to adore Tsunaki currently, and had been the first to grace her with the new-found nickname, "Tsuna-nee.)

Yamamoto had revealed that he admired Tsunaki a lot for her ability to smile even in the face of sneers and derogatory insults. He was one of the few people whom (among their classmates, that is) didn't use the nickname, "Dame-Tsuna", and, after Tsunaki stopped him from committing suicide all those years ago, stated how he truly regretted not helping out the brunette back then, when the bullies got particularly nasty. He was making up for those years by being more assertive with how he felt towards situations that questioned his values, and any bully who dared to mess with his boss now were immediately put in their place, if Gokudera had not already done the job.

In the case of Ryohei, well, he was called "Onii-san" for a reason. His younger sister, Kyoko, was a good friend of Tsuna, along with Hana Kurokawa. When Ryohei had found out that Kyoko was friends with the school's notorious _Dame,_ he took it in stride, oblivious to the stigma the nickname brought with the brunette. He'd insisted to be called "Onii-san", and the name had stuck.

Hibari Kyoya deemed everyone a _herbivore_ at first sight, thus, all his first impressions of people were that they were herbivores. Until they were to do something that proved that they were _carnivores_ , the prefect's mindset refused to budge _._ Recently, however, Hibari had stopped calling Tsunaki "herbivore", and instead started to use the term, "Little Animal". She didn't dare voice out any hint of discontent, and, besides, she didn't really mind the nickname. It was kind of like a promotion. She would probably never be seen as a carnivore, but Tsunaki was satisfied with how things were currently.

[Then, of course, there were the bad impressions that many others would initially have of her.]

Gokudera had, ironically, treated her the coldest upon their first meeting. His firm opinion was that Tsuna was a weakling, and that she didn't deserve to be _Sawada Jyuudaime_. It was quite the contrast to how he treated her now (like a _Goddess_ , Yamamoto would say jokingly), and Tsunaki often found herself marvelling at the change. Gokudera was a precious friend to her now, and she couldn't imagine what life would be without him.

Mukuro had thought along the same lines as Gokudera (much to the silver-haired teen's horror)—that she was an ignorant weakling. A _simpleton_ as well. While she knew that her Mist's perception of her had improved considerably over the past two years (Tsunaki beating Mukuro that one time in Kokuyo Land had definitely helped), Tsunaki knew that she still had a ways to go to properly gain Mukuro's respect. Even so, she trusted her Mist Guardian (even with his claims that he'd "possess" her body one day), and for now that was enough. True respect and loyalty would be gained steadily throughout the course of the next several years.

That being said, Tsunaki understood that she was probably a laughing stock in the mafia underworld. Giotto was part of said underworld, and he treated her just fine, but what of _Giotto's Guardians?_ What would they think when they hear about the engagement?

She knew that they were a good bunch, (a tad bit on the homicidal end of the spectrum, but no less good) and her Intuition told her that they could be trusted [A/N: poor child has never met Daemon Spade yet]. However, even _if_ they liked her well enough, wouldn't they be _bothered_ by the fact that their beloved boss was going to marry a mere _teenager_? They probably viewed her as a _child_ , since _G_ was _Gokudera's uncle_. A twist of fate could have had Giotto take G's place and herself take Gokudera's place. The statement gave off all kinds of weird vibes, and just thinking about all the what-ifs gave her a massive migraine.

Her palms had started to become clammy (palms so _cold_ and uncomfortably _moist_ ) when a short pattern of knocks echoed throughout the room, interrupting her thought process and temporarily putting her migraine at bay.

"Tsu-chan." A soft voice called out softly. "May I come in?"

 _Mama._

Tsunaki decided not to say anything, knowing that her mother would take the silence as a "go-ahead."

The caramel-eyed girl heard the door to the room open slowly. A soft click told her that it was then shut closed.

Nana Sawada sat down on the floor, right next to the bed. If Tsunaki were to turn her head to the side, she would see the slim, crossed legs of her mother, and a small portion of her waist. Her other features were obscured due to the low height of the bed.

"Did dad tell you?" Tsunaki asked meekly. Her voice was muffled.

There was a long pause, then, to Tsunaki's surprise, a weary sigh. Such a distressed noise was almost never heard from the usually cheerful and oblivious housewife.

"He did." Nana said gently. The woman shifted into a more comfortable position, back against the side of the bed. "I'm glad that my Tsu-chan will be married to such a wonderful man." The falsetto suddenly wavered. "Of all people your papa would want you to marry—I can't say that I'm disappointed about it being Giotto-kun. But I know that you're probably overwhelmed."

Tsunaki stayed quiet.

"I—Tsu-chan." Her words started to falter. "I don't know much about this business with the Sawada and Vongola." Her head hung. "I've always suspected, even before Reborn-kun came. I probably don't understand the weight of your situation, and I'm probably not being much of a help."

"Mama—"

"However, Tsu-chan, if you need someone to talk to because you're overwhelmed, or because you're having doubts, you come straight to me. Mama will listen because... because that's the only thing mama can really do to help you."

Caramel eyes watered. Tsunaki crawled out from under the bed, carefully so that Nana wouldn't have to move away from her spot. Tsuna's soft orbs widened when she noticed the rueful expression on her mother's face.

Tsunaki soon realized that Nana Sawada was revealing her true face, with her real expressions. Not the oblivious and happy masks that she wore on a near 24 hour basis.

Tsunaki knew that her mother wasn't as ignorant as people believed her to be. She knew that Nana had _always_ suspected; that she was being bullied at school to the point of near self-condemnation, that Reborn wasn't normal, and that being her daughter's tutor wasn't all there was to his odd appearance, that her daughter was involved in less-than-normal and incredibly _dangerous_ activities. She _knew,_ but she never questioned. Tsunaki suspected that it was because Nana had wanted Tsuna to come to her _first,_ and to reveal _everything_ to her _first_ as opposed to cornering her daughter and demanding to know what was going on. Perhaps her attitude was due to her husband's—her father's—frequent disappearances. She must have questioned Iemitsu's whereabouts all the time in the beginning of their marriage, but had eventually learned to not ask anything at all, to not get _involved_ unless she was truly needed.

Tsunaki both thanked and cursed this certain aspect of her mother. Nana, by refusing to take initiative and asking her family _what the_ hell _they were doing behind her back_ , was hurting herself without even realizing it. She was constantly fretting over Iemitsu and Tsunaki, and forced to bite back her tongue when she wanted to inquire as to _why_ she had to clean blood off their clothing, _why_ Tsuna came home with devastating bruises and scratches, _why_ her husband only visited once every few years.

Tsunaki wasn't an idiot. She heard her mother sobbing every other week, late in the night, in the solitude of her room that she was _supposed_ to share with Iemitsu. The brunette would often find herself wide awake, staring blankly at the ceiling until her mother finally calmed down and fell asleep from exhaustion.

(Tsunaki would also realize, later on, that she technically wasn't even supposed to be capable of hearing her mother cry so clearly since their rooms were located in _opposite sides of the house,_ especially since Nana usually muffled her cries with a flurry of blankets and pillows.)

Her mother was properly informed about the Sawada Family's true origins only a few months ago, when Tsunaki finally snapped and couldn't take hiding everything from her anymore, when she couldn't stand listening to her mother's weak sobs and silent _who_ _'s_ _, what_ _'s_ _, where_ _'s_ _, when_ _'s_ _, why_ _'s_ _,_ and _how's._ Nana appeared to have taken it rather well, but Tsunaki knew that the woman was worried sick. After the revelation, Nana had subtly started to be more wary of strangers and people that she may have been in contact with in the past. Whenever she went out shopping for groceries and the like, she avoided dark alleys like a plague, and was much more conscience of her surroundings. It was a change that Reborn had pointed out during one of their tutoring sessions.

She was forever grateful for her mother's understanding, and she desperately wanted to assure Nana that _it's okay,_ that what she was currently doing was _more than enough_ , just for being so deeply concerned. Tsunaki felt rather warm, knowing that her mother would be by her side when the pressure started to become unbearable.

She reached out towards the older brunette, and Nana spread her arms wide, welcoming. _Warm._

"Mama." She choked, and melted in the embrace. She held on for dear life, wishing to indulge in the comforting moment between mother-and-daughter.

 _Warm._

Tsunaki closed her eyes, imagining the imposing but _comforting_ figure of a rather attractive blond man, eyes an azure blue and hair a grand mess of golden-blond spikes.

Giotto was warm too.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

A thick book slammed on top of Giotto's office desk, rumpling the sheets of paperwork that the aforementioned blond was previously working on.

Giotto blinked slowly, and capped his fountain pen. "What is this, G?"

The magenta-haired man smirked. "I found it in the archives, Giotto. Look at the title—I thought that you would find this read rather helpful."

Giotto glanced down at the brick of a book. It seemed to be around four hundred pages long. He choked when he read the title, which was written in an old-fashioned, English scripted font.

" _T_ _he_ _Guide to Courting:_ _Vongola Edition_?!" Giotto exclaimed. "Written by Vongola Ottavo?! Grandmother?"

G stifled his laughter. "I asked your dad about it, and he explained that your grandfather—Vongola Ottavo's husband—was coveted by Ottavo. She wrote down her exploits and "tricks" to win over your grandfather in this book. I'm sure that you'll find it helpful with Tsunaki." The taller man patted the thick tomb for extra measure.

Giotto sweat-dropped. He had never been able to meet his grandmother, Daniela, mostly because she had died at a young age. Timoteo used to tell him about how much of a tom-boy she was in the past, and about how she once ruled Vongola with an iron fist, despite the prejudice she had to face for being a woman. Stories about Daniela always fascinated him, especially when he had been a child, and Giotto once more wished that he had been given a chance to meet the woman.

He'd be given a glimpse of the Eighth Boss's mind by reading the book, it seemed.

G soon left the room after a mock-salute, and Giotto was left alone. He gingerly opened the book to the first page; an introduction.

" **The Guide to Courting: Vongola Edition**

Written by Daniela di Vongola, Vongola Ottavo

 _Introduction_

 _If you are reading these words, then you are probably one of my successors. Congratulations. It seems that you have found interest in a young lady, or a young man._

 _I'm sure that finding a good spouse has been emphasized plenty of times in your life, successor. I, obviously, agree with this notion. Your spouse will be just as important as your Guardians. They will be your rock and anchor, and pillar of support when the time calls for it._

 _Encased in this book is a guide to courting—a guide to woo the one who has caught your interest, and whom will be your life-long partner._

 _I will remind you that, this is courting. Not dating. They are two completely different things, and if you have an ounce of understanding of literacy, then you should know what I mean._

 _There will be absolutely no sexual-intercourse, no one-night stands, and absolutely ZERO tolerance for infidelity. Your actions will be pure until the day you and your significant other exchange vows. If you can't seem to handle the thought of not being able to have sex with your intended, then **deal with it.** You are my descendent, an heir to the Vongola. Your patience should be well-maintained._

 _Do trust me. The rewards for your patience will be worth it, and I speak from experience. In fact, what I've written in these pages is based off of experience..."_

Giotto continued to absorb the content before him, brows raised to his hairline. His grandmother was a thorough and blunt lady, it seemed. But her words oozed wisdom, and the blond man had a feeling that he'd read through the entirety of the book within a few nights.

He paused at a particular section of the book, and read the text out loud, "Ensure that your intended does not feel pressured, for their emotional state should always be taken into consideration..." His honey-like voice trailed off.

Giotto slipped a piece of paper between the pages he stopped at, and closed the book. He carefully placed it in one of the many drawers of his office desk.

"I hope she isn't feeling too overwhelmed." He mumbled under his breath. He really couldn't imagine how Tsunaki was feeling about the whole situation, and he wished to make her feel as comfortable as possible with the turn of events.

Courting was definitely something that he would invest in. He knew that it was a bit backwards, considering that they were already pretty much engaged, but Giotto figured that he was allowed to mess around with the typical order. Since when was the Vongola anything but _abnormal_ , anyway?

He would ask his father to extend the engagement for a year or two, and court Tsunaki properly within that time frame.

Hopefully it was enough time for Tsunaki to adjust to the idea.

* * *

 **G27**

* * *

"Dame-Tsuna. There's someone on the phone who wants to speak with you."

Tsunaki jolted at Reborn's sudden appearance. She cursed herself; she had thought that she was gradually getting better at identifying the hitman's presence, especially since two years had already passed since meeting the "child". She braced herself, expecting for Reborn to kick her head or something of that variation; He would usually then remind her of the importance of using her good 'ole Hyper Intuition to know when people were nearby. In turn, Tsunaki would meekly remind Reborn that, outside of fights and other important situations, she could only tell when a malicious force was in the same vicinity and take action from there.

Naturally, Reborn would kick her head to retaliate.

The hitman, much to her shock, skipped the reprimand and lightly bopped her on the skull, plopping a spherical speaking device on her lap. Tsunaki was mildly shocked that she didn't receive a worse blow, but she sure as hell wasn't about to complain.

Reborn was soon out of the room as quickly as he came.

On the way out, she could have sworn that her tutor muttered something along the lines of, "dumbass horses".

"Yo, Tsuna!" a very familiar voice emitted from the device. "How's my little sister doing?"

"Dino-niisan!" a big smile stretched across Tsunaki's face. She picked up the round speaking device from her lap, clutching it tightly with her hand instead. "It's been so long since you've last called!"

Dino Cavallone, the Tenth Boss of the Cavallone Famiglia. He was a frequent visitor in the Sawada home when Tsunaki had first been informed about her Family's duties. They'd grown a rather sibling-like bond over the years, and, much like with Giotto in the past, had looked up to him as an older brother figure; albeit a rather clumsy one.

"Sorry, sorry! I've been very busy lately." Dino laughed. Tsunaki could hear the blond man's subordinates shuffling in the background. "I just stopped by Namimori to see how you were doing, since it's been a while, but you weren't there! Imagine my surprise when one of your little friends told me that you were in _Italy,_ of all places."

Ah, no wonder why Reborn had said "dumbass horse".

"The trip was last-minute." Tsunaki admitted. She frowned a little. "I'm sorry you had to waste your time."

"It wasn't a waste, silly!" Dino insisted, nonchalant. "I got to see Kyouya again, that homicidal brat. He greeted me with a pair of tonfas again, ya know." Tsunaki could imagine the twenty-two* year old man pout. "I don't know how you handle him, Tsunaki! Romario wants to know your secret, too."

Tsunaki smiled a little. He Cloud Guardian was definitely rather violent, but his loyalty to Namimori was admittedly rather admirable. Dino had probably "ruined the peace of Namimori" to catch Hibari's attention. It also helped that Dino, when he was around his subordinates, was a formidable fighter. Hibari probably wanted to spar with someone who could provide him a good fight. "Dino-niisan, you'll be safe as long as you don't disrupt the peace of Namimori. Your subordinates won't like it if you're bitten to death."

"Kyouya has something against me!" Dino practically wailed. "I don't see him waving a tonfa at you, Tsunaki!"

The brunette chuckled nervously. Her presence in Namimori had most certainly disrupted the peace in Namimori on several occasions, mostly because of her other Guardians. Because she was a "Sky", it was her job to watch over her Guardians—just as they "protected" her, meaning that she was alsoaccountable for their actions. "He does, Dino-niisan." Tsunaki said tiredly. "It's just, whenever you're in Namimori, he wants to bite _you_ to death."

"I'm getting ambushed nearly every corner I pass by." Dino complained. "Usually Namimori is a safe haven for us mafiosos, but your 'strongest Guardian' is making things rather difficult."

Hibari was not only _her_ Guardian, Tsunaki mused. He was also _Namimori's_ Guardian.

"I'll prepare a casket for you, nii-san." Tsunaki teased, innocently. "I'll make sure Reborn comes to the funeral as well."

"You have no faith in me!"

They both burst into a series of chuckles.

"How's your trip in Italy?" Dino asked. "I hope it's lived up to your expectations."

"The nature is gorgeous." Tsunaki said. She leaned against the window sill, staring at the garden just beyond the window. "The people here are nice enough as well..." Her voice trailed off, thoughts drifting back to the dinner which had only taken place a few nights ago.

"—na? Tsuna?"

Tsunaki blinked, realizing that Dino had been trying to get her attention. "O-oh! Sorry about that, Dino-niisan. What did you say?"

A beat of silence passed.

"Nothing important, little sis." Dino finally said. "...are you alright? You seem more distracted than usual."

"I... it's not something you need to be worried about, Dino-niisan." Tsunaki said resolutely. She didn't want to bother the bronco with her issues, and, anyway, she wasn't even sure if she was allowed to talk about her arranged marriage so freely. Reborn had long since taught her to be discreet with matters involving the Family, even if it was Dino's. The meek quality of her voice seemed to express that she didn't exactly feel like elaborating.

"...I think it's just the culture shock. Things are quite a bit different here compared to Japan." They both knew that wasn't the case, but Dino took her hesitance in stride. He carried on the conversation like a pro, making sure to not delve into too deep of a subject.

"—Have you met Giotto yet, Tsu?" Tsunaki jolted at the mention of the man. "He was Reborn's student before me. I see him pretty often, since the Vongola and Cavallone are rather close allies. He's a pretty cool guy, and I'm sure that Reborn's introduced you two already."

"He was Reborn's student, too?" Tsunaki asked, shocked. She had thought that Dino was Reborn's only other (past) student. The hitman had always been rather cryptic when it came to the past, and Tsunaki had to wonder why Reborn never mentioned mentoring Giotto. Back when Reborn was explaining the history between Sawada and Vongola, several months before, he talked about how Vongola Nono had five children, the second youngest being adopted. He never mentioned any names, besides offhandedly mentioning that the eldest of the children was most likely going to become Decimo.

That obviously wasn't the case anymore. Giotto was going to become Decimo, although Tsunaki wasn't sure as to why, since Giotto assumingly had older brothers.

"Yeah, he was Reborn's first student!" Dino said, and she could imagine him smiling widely. There was a small pause. Tsunaki could practically _feel_ the sudden melancholic shift in mood. "Is he alright, Tsuna?"

"He seemed fine at dinner—", Tsunaki started, slowly, "—Dad invited him and Vongola Nono, along with a few of Giotto's Guardians."

"You didn't meet him at the funeral?" Dino sounded more and more confused. "I thought that that was the reason for your last-minute trip to Italy."

"Funeral? What funeral?" Tsunaki sounded just as bewildered as the older blond. As far as she was aware, the reason why they were in Italy was because Iemitsu "missed" spending time with his family, and had generously allowed Tsunaki to bring along her Guardians.

She heard Dino curse.

"You weren't told about Federico's death?"

Death?

 _Death?_

 _I thought that that was the reason for your last-minute trip in Italy._

Iemistu abruptly leaving, in the middle of sight-seeing, explaining that it was for a meet-up with the Vongola...

It was for a funeral?

"Giotto's older brother died?" Tsunaki whispered softly to herself. She felt herself grow cold, and her stomach knotted uncomfortably.

The brunette slapped her forehead, feeling like an absolute idiot. 'Dame-Tsuna!' She berated herself. _It made so much sense._

Her father had told her that she and Giotto would become the new bosses of the evangelized Vongola. She hadn't thought much of it back then, but it was rather odd how Giotto's brothers were copped out of the picture. 'Where were they?', she'd wondered. 'What was their place in the evangelized Vongola?'

Her questions were answered, although Tsuna had to put the pieces together herself. Giotto's older brother, Federico, had died—he had two more, but considering how her father had referred to _Giotto_ as Vongola Decimo in recent conversations...

They must have perished earlier as well.

Giotto was the last-living heir.

She felt a bit miffed for being left in the dark by her father and Reborn, but she couldn't fault either of them. Iemitsu didn't want to ruin their rather enlightening trip in Italy by forcing the family to attend the funeral of a man they barely knew. Reborn probably didn't think it was necessary to mention Federico's death, since it really had nothing to do with his current student.

Giotto had _seemed_ fine at the dinner.

But her intuition told her that that wasn't exactly the case. Timoteo looked worse for wear, but was composed as usual, and the look in Giotto's shimmering, azure blue eyes held an odd sort of heaviness that constricted her throat.

She hadn't noticed it at first, because back then she'd still been revelling in the fact that she got to meet her precious _Gio-nii_ again. But now... now it seemed all too clear.

Tsunaki decided that she didn't like that look in Giotto's eyes.

"It's the third death of this year." Dino finally said. "Massimo and Enrico perished earlier this year—I was at their funerals. I couldn't make it to Federico's funeral because I was sent on an emergency mission near the Namimori area; it was the only reason why I was able to visit Namimori in the first place."

"I see." Tsuna muttered quietly. "The next time I see Giotto... I'll make sure he's okay."

She'd been acting rather selfish recently, fretting about herself all this time when _Giotto_ was probably feeling _exhausted_. He had to deal with the deaths of his older brothers, all in the span of one year, and on top of that he was being forced to marry a girl who wasn't even an _adult_ yet. The older blond was probably also adjusting to his role as the official Vongola Decimo, and she couldn't imagine the sheer amount of paperwork that he probably had to work through due to the transition. The Vongola was the most powerful mafia syndicate, and with great power comes _great_ responsibility. If she'd been Giotto, she probably would have cracked under the overwhelming pressure.

After a few more words, Tsunaki turned off the speaking device. She cradled it with her palms.

"You and Giotto will become Co-Bosses of the new Vongola." Her father had said. "You will both share the burden of the Family."

 _Share the burden of the Family._

Tsunaki's eyes glowed orange, burning with resolve.

She would pick up her weight, and make sure that Giotto would never have to deal with the pressures of the Family alone. She would be by his side, ensuring that the man would never fall into the darkness of the mafia. Reborn had warned her about the fate of most bosses of the Vongola Famiglia, how most, after Secondo, eventually drowned in the darkness of the mafia underworld.

 _Warm._

 _ **She didn't want Giotto to lose his warmth.**_

Unbeknownst to Tsunaki, a certain hitman was watching his goddaughter from the doorway of the room she was in.

Reborn smirked, pride bubbling in his chest as Tsunaki's fire burned with overwhelming **resolve**.

Giotto and Tsunaki were definitely going to become one _hell_ of a power couple.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, this is a rather early chapter. YAY! It's a little less than 5000 words long, but I'm happy with it. I'm astounded by the positive feedback this story has been given. Seriously, 100+ follows and favourites?! You guys are amazing! You should all know that I practically eat up all the reviews, goodness.**

 **I wanted to ask a favour.**

 **I was wondering if any of you beautiful people would be so kind to possibly make a cover for this fanfic? I, quite frankly, can't draw to save a life, and I also lack the necessary tools to make a proper drawing. If any of you would be so kind to provide me one (don't forget to sign your name on the copy of the cover!), it would be great! PM me about it, and if you don't have an account here, then leave a guest review or leave a comment on the AO3 equivalent of this story. The AO3 equivalent is listed under TMOTC, and the name is the same. I don't know how exactly this whole process works with receiving the covers and all, so could any of you provide some tips? Thanks!**

* * *

 ***I made Dino 22 because I needed him to be a couple years younger that Giotto; Reborn left Giotto after he turned sixteen, and several months afterwards, Reborn starts to tutor Dino. By then, Dino is fourteen years old.**

* * *

 **[2016-07-10] YOU'RE ALL PROBABLY ASKING WHERE THE SIXTH CHAPTER IS;**

 **Thing is, I don't even have everything all planned as of yet. I'm still writing out an outline and gradually writing out the sixth chapter. On the side, I'm fixing up stupid mistakes and some awkward wording I've made in the previous chapters. I KNOW ITS BEEN ABOUT TWO OR THREE MONTHS NOW, AND IM SO SORRY! I'd seriously appreciate any ideas you guys have to offer me!**


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